The Military cooperation helps Burundi troops acquire knowledge they could not get otherwise.
Journalists were allowed to take images of the workshop.
Military cooperation with foreign countries helps members of Burundi armed forces get training that it is not offered in the country.
Some of the countries that have military cooperation with Burundi assist in “training our troops who become specialists in military domains that do not exist in Burundi”, says Col. Gaspard Baratuza, Spokesman for the Burundi National Defense Forces.
“We don’t have an aviation academy here. Neither do we have a naval one, for example”, he adds.
The Ministry of Defence has organised this Wednesday a two-day workshop for military Attachés of countries who have embassies in Burundi such as Belgium, France, South Africa, Tanzania and the USA. The purpose was to exchange on the situation of military bilateral cooperation and ways to improve it.
“Today, the army do not only take part in the traditional role of defense. They also take part in peacekeeping missions, environment protection and disaster relief”, says Baratuza on the fringe of the workshop that was not open to journalists. “It is thanks to the exchange of cadets and officers that our army develop” to meet what is required from it.
Baratuza says the current crisis that has sparked disagreement with countries like Belgium and France has not affected military cooperation. “The level of cooperation [with our partners] is very good”, he says
“We still have students [in military academies] in Belgium and France”, says the Army Spokesman.
France and the USA had suspended military cooperation with Burundi following the violent repression of protesters against President Nkurunziza’s bid for a third term in office in 2015.
The two countries suspended their training of Burundi troops to be deployed in UN peacekeeping missions in Somalia (Amisom) and the Central African Republic (Minusca).
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