The Burundian capital, Bujumbura, is set to host this year’s edition of the East African Community (EAC) Military Sports and Culture Week.

The event which will run from August 14 to 28, will bring together hundreds of service men and women representing various services of the Defence Forces of the EAC Partner States.

A variety of sporting disciplines have been lined up including; handball (men), football (men), netball (women), cross-country (men and women) and basketball (men) as well as various cultural events reflecting life in the EAC.

Speaking to The New Times yesterday by phone, Lt. Col Jill Rutaremara, Defence and Military Spokesman, said that the event portrays one of the areas of cooperation among the EAC military.

"We hosted the Military Sports and Culture Week in 2009 and this time it’s Burundi’s turn since other EAC partner countries have hosted the event,” he said.
Rutaremara stated that Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) will take part in the event.

Alongside the sports activities, the EAC Defence Sector will also be celebrating 10 years of cooperation which  will climax in November 2011 with the theme  "One People, One Destiny: Yet Another Decade for Deeper EAC Defence Cooperation”.

According to the Organizing Committee, the hosts have made good progress in the preparations for the event and various venues designated for the different sporting disciplines have been identified within Bujumbura city. Entry will be free of charge.

The objective of the Military Sports and Culture Week is not competition but to contribute to confidence building and nurturing an esprit de corps among the EAC Defence Forces; as well as for the individual soldiers to appreciate their diverse cultures.

The East African Military Sports and Culture Week has been held on a rotational basis since 2005 when the first edition was held in Kampala, Uganda. Others have since been held in Nairobi/Kenya (2006), Zanzibar/Tanzania (May 2007), Kampala (June 2008) and Kigali, Rwanda (2009).

The Sports and Culture Week is held within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Defence Matters, which was signed in 1998 and revised in 2001.

Ends