The Chief of the Defence Forces Robert Kibochi has returned to Kenya after an official trip to India Armed Forces.
Kibochi had been invited to the training institutions on the invitation of his counterpart, the Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat.
The trip which took place between November 2 to 7 drew parallels to the India –Kenya shared access and responsibility.
This is to ensure security in the Indian ocean through information sharing to counter piracy and naco-terrorism.
During the visit, both the CDF and the CDS underscored their highest consideration and assurance to support staff exchanges, expertise, knowledge and practice sharing.
They also shared on the training of young, junior and mid-level officers and service members, participation in combined training exercises, capacity and capability building.
The two leaders agreed to establish a partnership in the areas of maritime security, counter-terrorism, NACO terrorism, defence industry, research specialized medical training and collaboration in advanced training in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and quantum technologies.
General Kibochi was accorded an exclusive tour, briefings and demonstrations respectively at the National War Memorial the Rajputana Rifles Regiment in New Delhi, 50 Parachute Brigade in Agra, and the Military Headquarters of War (MHOW) in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
Kenya and India Defence Forces have a history of friendship that goes over many decades since independence.
The two nations have exchanged training facilitators and students invariably. Kenya has recorded a presence of India Armed Forces Officers at the National Defence College, Karen.
Kenya has also benefitted by having Officers and Service Members attend specific military courses from military institutions in India.
Kenya and India have considerably, enhanced partnership with adherence to the spirit and objectives of a Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Cooperation, which entered into force in 2016.
During the tour, the CDF was congratulated by the leadership for his appointment to CDF.
“We take immense pride that the Kenyan Chief of Defence Forces is an alumnus of the Signal Officer’s Degree Engineering Course. We are proud that he is the first India trained officer to become the Chief of the Defence Forces of Kenya,” said, Lt Gen Vadlamani Srednivas, Commandant Army War College, MHOW.
