- Burundi's Second Vice-President says sports and culture event is a demonstration of East Africans' collective commitment to the regional integration process
East African Community Secretariat, Arusha, Tanzania:
The two-week EAC Military Games and Culture Event 2011 successfully ended in Bujumbura, Burundi, Sunday with Kenya bagging three gold medals (in handball, cross country men and women categories) and three silvers (in netball, basketball and football) to finish top of the medals table.
Uganda followed with one gold medal in football, silver medals in handball and cross country (women) and bronze in netball while hosts Burundi secured third place with one gold medal in basketball, silver in cross country men and bronze in football.Tanzania in fourth place amassed a gold medal in netball and bronze medals in basketball and cross country (women category). Rwanda finished in fifth position with a bronze medal in the women's cross country.
Closing the event at the Prince Louis Rwagasore Stadium, Burundi's Second Vice-President H.E. Gervais Rufyikiri, said that the sports and culture spectacle consolidated the excellent relationship that exists among the EAC Partner States.
"We have the will and determination and nothing will come against the tide of this collective commitment," he said before a packed stadium, which included Partner States Ministers, Permanent Secretaries, Chiefs of Defense Forces, Politicians and Diplomatic Corps, among others.
Burundi's Minister for Defense and War Veterans, Maj. General Pontien Gaciyubwenge, said that the sports and culture gala was a living testimony of the growth of integration. "The Event offered concrete hope and prospects for future integration and progress for the people of EA who share the same destiny."
Burundi's Chief of Defense Forces Major General Godefoid Niyombare said: "Closer defence co-operation is designed to ensure that the aspirations of the East African people for peace and prosperity are guaranteed by a collective, coordinated defense structure" and called for an expeditious upgrading of the Memorandum on Defense Co-operation into the EAC Protocol on Defense Cooperation.
Addressing at the same occasion, the EAC Deputy Secretary General (in charge of Productive and Social Sectors) Mr. Jean Claude Nsengiyumva, said that this year's event was held at the time when the EA integration process was intensifying on all the fronts.
"The consolidation of East African Customs Union, the establishment last July of the East African Common Market and the ongoing acceleration of the pace towards the remaining stages of integration, namely the Monetary Union and Political Federation, all herald a serious determination on the part of the East African people and leadership to construct a strong EA economic and political bloc," he stressed.
The colorful closing ceremony was preceded by a military parade from the EAC Partner States and a football match between Burundi and Rwanda. Burundi won the match 1-0. Later, the various winners were awarded with trophies and certificates.
The Games were officially opened by Burundi's President and current Chairperson of the EAC Summit H.E. Pierre Nkurunziza on 16 August 2011, where he underlined importance of military co-operation in all sectors, including sports and culture.
More than 500 armed forces sportsmen and women from the EAC Partner States featured
in the annual bonanza, held on rotational basis.
Alongside the sports and culture event, the EAC Defense Sector is celebrating 10 years of cooperation which will climax in November 2011 with the theme: One People, One Destiny: Yet Another Decade for Deeper EAC Defense Cooperation.
The primary objective of the Military Sports and Culture Event is not competition but to contribute to confidence building and nurturing a spirit of sportsmanship among the EAC Defense Forces as well as for the individual soldiers to demonstrate their immense talents and diverse cultures.
BACKGROUND
The East African Military Games and Culture Events have been held on a rotational basis since 2005 when the first edition was held in Kampala, Uganda. Other editions of the games have since been held in Nairobi/Kenya (2006), Zanzibar/Tanzania (May 2007), Kampala (June 2008) and Kigali, Rwanda (2009).
The Military Games and Culture Event is held within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Defense, which was signed in 1998 and revised in 2001. The MoU has specific provisions for areas of co-operation which are visits and exchange of information to which Sports and Cultural is encompassed, joint military training, joint operations and technical cooperation among the EAC Defense Forces.
The two-week EAC Military Games and Culture Event 2011 successfully ended in Bujumbura, Burundi, Sunday with Kenya bagging three gold medals (in handball, cross country men and women categories) and three silvers (in netball, basketball and football) to finish top of the medals table.
Uganda followed with one gold medal in football, silver medals in handball and cross country (women) and bronze in netball while hosts Burundi secured third place with one gold medal in basketball, silver in cross country men and bronze in football.Tanzania in fourth place amassed a gold medal in netball and bronze medals in basketball and cross country (women category). Rwanda finished in fifth position with a bronze medal in the women's cross country.
Closing the event at the Prince Louis Rwagasore Stadium, Burundi's Second Vice-President H.E. Gervais Rufyikiri, said that the sports and culture spectacle consolidated the excellent relationship that exists among the EAC Partner States.
"We have the will and determination and nothing will come against the tide of this collective commitment," he said before a packed stadium, which included Partner States Ministers, Permanent Secretaries, Chiefs of Defense Forces, Politicians and Diplomatic Corps, among others.
Burundi's Minister for Defense and War Veterans, Maj. General Pontien Gaciyubwenge, said that the sports and culture gala was a living testimony of the growth of integration. "The Event offered concrete hope and prospects for future integration and progress for the people of EA who share the same destiny."
Burundi's Chief of Defense Forces Major General Godefoid Niyombare said: "Closer defence co-operation is designed to ensure that the aspirations of the East African people for peace and prosperity are guaranteed by a collective, coordinated defense structure" and called for an expeditious upgrading of the Memorandum on Defense Co-operation into the EAC Protocol on Defense Cooperation.
Addressing at the same occasion, the EAC Deputy Secretary General (in charge of Productive and Social Sectors) Mr. Jean Claude Nsengiyumva, said that this year's event was held at the time when the EA integration process was intensifying on all the fronts.
"The consolidation of East African Customs Union, the establishment last July of the East African Common Market and the ongoing acceleration of the pace towards the remaining stages of integration, namely the Monetary Union and Political Federation, all herald a serious determination on the part of the East African people and leadership to construct a strong EA economic and political bloc," he stressed.
The colorful closing ceremony was preceded by a military parade from the EAC Partner States and a football match between Burundi and Rwanda. Burundi won the match 1-0. Later, the various winners were awarded with trophies and certificates.
The Games were officially opened by Burundi's President and current Chairperson of the EAC Summit H.E. Pierre Nkurunziza on 16 August 2011, where he underlined importance of military co-operation in all sectors, including sports and culture.
More than 500 armed forces sportsmen and women from the EAC Partner States featured
in the annual bonanza, held on rotational basis.
Alongside the sports and culture event, the EAC Defense Sector is celebrating 10 years of cooperation which will climax in November 2011 with the theme: One People, One Destiny: Yet Another Decade for Deeper EAC Defense Cooperation.
The primary objective of the Military Sports and Culture Event is not competition but to contribute to confidence building and nurturing a spirit of sportsmanship among the EAC Defense Forces as well as for the individual soldiers to demonstrate their immense talents and diverse cultures.
BACKGROUND
The East African Military Games and Culture Events have been held on a rotational basis since 2005 when the first edition was held in Kampala, Uganda. Other editions of the games have since been held in Nairobi/Kenya (2006), Zanzibar/Tanzania (May 2007), Kampala (June 2008) and Kigali, Rwanda (2009).
The Military Games and Culture Event is held within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Defense, which was signed in 1998 and revised in 2001. The MoU has specific provisions for areas of co-operation which are visits and exchange of information to which Sports and Cultural is encompassed, joint military training, joint operations and technical cooperation among the EAC Defense Forces.
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