The Italian Air Force Chief of Staff, Lt Gen Enzo Vecciarelli, is in the country on a three-day visit aimed at strengthening military relations between the two countries.
The Italian Air Force Chief of Staff, Lt Gen Enzo Vecciarelli, is in the country on a three-day visit aimed at strengthening military relations between the two countries.
The Italian officer and his delegation were yesterday at the Ministry of Defence and Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) headquarters in Kigali where they held discussions with Defence minister James Kabarebe, Chief of Defence Staff Gen Patrick Nyamvumba, and other top officials.
The acting Military and Defence Spokesperson, Brig Gen Ferdinand Safari, told reporters that the visit of the Italian delegation is "in line with our normal and good bilateral relations.”
Safari told reporters that their main area of cooperation is in matters regarding the air force, an area "where Italy is more advanced” and their Rwandan counterparts can learn a lot from.
Safari added: "With Italy we have a special bilateral military relationship. Last year, the Rwandan Defence Forces Air Force chief of staff (Brig Gen Charles Karamba) visited Italy. And this is a reciprocal visit.
"We have various bilateral cooperation area, especially in military training and among the European countries we cooperate with Italy is among our best partners.”
The Italian General, among others, toured the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre where he paid homage to victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
Today, he is scheduled to tour parts of the country before departing tomorrow.
Police cooperation thriving
Meanwhile, Rwanda-Italy ties are also being enhanced by the two countries’ police forces. In February, the Commander General of Carabinieri – the Italian Police – Lt Gen Tullio Del Sette, also visited Rwanda.
The Carabinieri is the National Gendarmerie of Italy, that polices both military and civilian populations with over 200 years of service.
At the time, the Inspector General of Police, Emmanuel K. Gasana, and Lt Gen Tullio discussed modalities of enhancing the relations between the two police forces following a bilateral agreement signed mid-last month.
Gen Tullio said they look at Rwanda as an exemplary and resilient country, and are happy to cooperate with the country.
The bilateral agreement signed in Italy, the first of its kind at defence and security level between Italy and Rwanda, underlined the parties’ desire to strengthen cooperation in the fields of training and exchange of best practices, especially in the priority fields of counter-terrorism, public order management, traffic and road safety, peace support operations, and cybercrime investigations.
Earlier, in January, the Italian Ambassador to Rwanda, Domenico Fornara, visited the Rwanda National Police headquarters.
At the time, the envoy noted that Rwanda’s relationship with Italy in different sectors, including security, continues to thrive.
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