US, Malawi sign military agreement        

Malawi and United States have agreed to a major military cooperation which Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation George Chaponda and US Ambassador to Malawi Virginia Palmer  signed on Wednesday.

Consistent with a long-standing bilateral agreement on U.S. assistance to Malawi, the new agreement provides the framework for continued military cooperation, assistance, and training collaboration between the two countries.

“Malawi has a strong record of military discipline, peaceful coexistence, military defense of the constitution, and leadership in supporting regional peace and stability,” Ambassador Palmer said.

“I am pleased to put in place a framework agreement to facilitate future collaboration and training opportunities to sustain and further expand Malawi’s ability to both protect its people while contributing to a strong, peaceful, and prosperous region.”

In recent years, the United States has supported the Malawi Defence Forces (MDF) by helping to train and equip eight battalions of Malawian peacekeepers, supported the establishment of the first ever senior non-commissioned officers’ course at the Malawi Armed Forces College (MAFCO), sponsored large peacekeeping exercises with militaries from the region hosted in Malawi.

The US  has also provided dozens of other training opportunities for MDF leaders, officers, and soldiers.

Under discussion since 2013, the military cooperation agreement provides a framework that will enable such mutually agreed upon military activities to continue as a critical component of the broad U.S.-Malawi partnership.