The Carabinieri continue to offer training activities to Ugandan police both in the field of antiterrorism and of combating environmental crimes. From 20 August to 7 September, a delegation of the Carabinieri held 2 courses for 81 students, nine of whom were women, in the main police training centre in Masindi.
The first course was targeted on 30 officers and 20 rangers operating in national parks and spanned different aspects of environmental protection: from fighting poaching to combating organised crime organisations trafficking protected species, and to training rangers to protect the environment and assure the safety of tourists in national parks.
The second course instead focused on antiterrorism and was attended by 19 officer cadets already operating in the sector and 12 trainers working in the training school. The best 10 students of every course will be sent to attend further training courses at Carabinieri facilities in Italy.
The course closed with a meeting organised by the Italian Embassy to present the activities performed by the Carabinieri, especially in the area of environmental protection. At the event, which was attended by representatives of the Ugandan army and members of the diplomatic corps, UN Agencies, NGOs and of the Italian Community, one of the speakers was the Ugandan Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, Ephraim Kamuntu.
The Minister defined the Carabinieri “the only police force capable of embracing such a broad fan of competences with such a high level of professionalism” and underscored the two Countries’ excellent bilateral relations. The Italian Ambassador, Domenico Fornara, highlighted: “The Carabinieri’s commitment is an Italian point of excellence that is increasingly appreciated in East Africa. There are many training activities pursuant to technical bilateral and regional Agreements that have already finalised and include the ‘Rangers’ course which is an exclusive offer of the Carabinieri only previously provided in Rwanda and Namibia up to now.”
