The recent joint police trainings in the region are aimed at harmonising their fight against international crime, a Ugandan junior minister has said.

Matia Kasaija,  the State Minister for Internal Affairs, has said the trainings under the Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation (EAPCCO) are aimed at curbing terrorism, fraud, drug trafficking and human trafficking.

Kasaija said that during last week’s concluded EAPCCO meeting in Bujumbura police chiefs had agreed to enrich their capacity by sharing information between them and Interpol as they counter international crime.

"We (EAPCCO) have agreed to set up a mechanism with Interpol to share information and training so that our capacity to fight international crime is enhanced,” Kasaija told The New Times in an exclusive interview on Monday 3.

He said police forces in EAPCCO were eager to harmonise their training. EAPCCO member states include Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia. The others are DR Congo, Djibouti, Sudan and Eritrea.

Under the new arrangement, Uganda has so far received requests from Somalia and South Sudan to train their police forces. Kasaija also said Tanzania will be training some of Ugandan police officers.Ends