Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the Chief of Defence Forces of Uganda, has hosted his Ethiopian counterpart, Field Marshal Berhanu Jula, the Chief of the General Staff of the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF), at a dinner at Ndere Center near Kampala. 

The Ethiopian Field Marshal is in Uganda at the invitation of Gen Muhoozi, who thanked the Ethiopian military chief for sparing time off his busy schedule to visit Uganda.

The CDF who is also the Senior Presidential Advisor for Special Operations noted that “such visits reaffirm strong historical ties between Uganda and Ethiopia.” 

The military chiefs, who had earlier met at the Defence Intelligence and Security Headquarters in Mbuya, reiterated their resolve to “further strengthen military ties and bilateral relations between their respective countries.” 

The Ethiopian chief thanked Gen Muhoozi for the warm reception and hospitality shown to his delegation, which includes top military chiefs from his country’s armed forces. 

They noted strong similarities among the dances and music following cultural performances by Ndere Troupe dancers, who performed cultural music from across all regions of Uganda.

Muhoozi had earlier noted that, “The regions now known as Uganda and Ethiopia have been linked for over 2,000 years, with trade dating back to 100 AD with the Aksum Empire.”

He added: “Our relationship is one of blood and shared history.”

Gen Muhoozi also highlighted the history of cooperation and mutual support between the UPDF and Ethiopian National Defence Forces (ENDF), influenced by their national interests and regional security dynamics.

“We fondly remember our joint operations with Ethiopian forces in 1995 and 1996 against the Sudan Armed Forces and the Lord’s Resistance Army,” the CDF remarked.

Both countries have contributed troops to African Union and United Nations Peacekeeping Missions, particularly in Somalia, through AMISOM and ATMIS.

Gen Muhoozi also commended the military training exchange and extended an invitation to ENDF officers to participate in UPDF courses in Uganda.

In October 2022, Gen Muhoozi visited Ethiopia where he interacted with President Ahmed Abiy.

He also visited the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

The construction of the 5,150-MW hydroelectric dam, which will be regarded as Africa’s largest dam upon completion with a total volume of 74,000 billion cubic meters, started in April 2011 on the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia’s Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State in proximity to the Ethiopia-Sudan border.

Muhoozi also toured the Air Force base, Federal Police Headquarters, the new Science and Technology Centre and Artificial Intelligence Centre.

At the dinner, Gen Kainerugaba was joined by top Security Chiefs of the UPDF and sister security agencies. 

They included the Commander Land Forces, Deputy IGP, Commander Air Force, among other Generals, as well as ESO and ISO directors.