Zambia and the African Union have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the deployment of police officers to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
Zambia’s Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the African Union, Emmanuel Mwamba signed the MoU on behalf of Zambia.
Mr. Mwamba said the signing of the memorandum of understanding would increase the number of police officers Zambia was allocated to send for the AMISOM from the current 38 to 160.
He said at the signing ceremony that Zambia’s police officers and soldiers who are deployed to various United Nations and African Union missions were known to be distinguished and very disciplined in the field.
Mr. Mwamba further said although Zambia had been deploying individual police officers to African Union missions since 2012, this was done without a memorandum of understanding.
He reiterated that it was important for member states to institutionalise the deployment of officers to the African Union mission by signing an MoU.
And signing on behalf of the African Union Commission, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Bankole Adeoye, said Zambia was a model of democracy in Africa.
Ambassador Adeoye said Zambia had also helped many African countries through peace-keeping and peace building efforts across the continent.
This is contained in a statement issued to ZANIS by First Secretary for Press and Tourism at the Zambian Mission in Addis Ababa, Inutu Mwanza.
