On 15 February, a team of instructors from the Royal Marines and Royal Navy completed 28 days of Mission Specific Training (MST) for Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) Marines. The training, which was organised by the British Peace Support Team (Africa), was broadly intended to build capacity within the UPDF and more specifically in preparation for their role in Somalia under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

 The British High Commissioner HE Peter West attended the passing-out event at Port Alice Entebbe, which involved a field demonstration by the marines and a closing ceremony officiated by Uganda’s Deputy Chief of Defence Forces Maj Gen Wilson Mbadi. Maj Gen Mbadi congratulated the participants on completing the training and thanked the UK for its continued support to the UPDF as a whole and specifically in its peace-keeping role under AMISOM.

 In his remarks at the closing ceremony, Peter West said:  "It is a genuine pleasure to see, first all the degree of cooperation between the UK and Uganda and secondly the practical value of the help we can give through the training that the BPST provide."

 Mr West also recognised the Uganda government’s and specifically the UPDF’s efforts under AMISOM as being crucial to the security of the region and reiterated that this effort should not be taken for granted.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of British HighCommission Kampala.