Belgian defence chief to visit

KIGALI - The Chief of Belgian Defence (CHOD), Gen Charles-Henri Delcour, is expected in Kigali tomorrow for a four-day visit.Gen Delcour will hold talks with his Rwandan counterpart, Gen. James Kabarebe on a wide range of issues to enhance the excellent bilateral military cooperation already existing between the two armies. According to the Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) spokesman, Maj. Jill Rutaremara, the visit will cement the good relationship with the Belgian army and explore other areas of cooperation.Rutaremara added that both defence chiefs will discuss matters related to training, especially in the engineering field.”As we embark on modernising and professionalising our military, we are faced with challenges. We need to keep abreast with new technologies, that is why we have sent our young men and women to several countries for specialised training. Belgium is one of them.” Three specialist medical doctors have graduated from the Royal Military Academy in Belgium and another 50 students have passed through the same academy pursuing different courses, especially in engineering. “As we operate in a multi-national environment, especially in peacekeeping, we need to keep up to standard. Most of our equipment is modern and needs skilled human resources to operate them,” said Rutaremara.