Tanzania receives US military equipment and training in support of peacekeeping program

February 6, 2020February 6, 2020 Sarah Lesedi Tanzania

The United States has given the Tanzanian People Defense Force (TPDF) military equipment and training worth $18 million, on 4 February 2020.

The delivery is part of the US support for the African Peacekeeping Rapid Reaction Program (APRRP).

The equipment delivered to the TPDF included 27 Iveco trucks, a 300-person kitchen, water purification machines and communications equipment.

APRRP, is a partnership between the United States and six African nations: Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Senegal, and Ghana; intended to create “the capacity and readiness to provide tactical headquarters and logistics support for UN and AU peacekeeping operations,” says the Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Tanzania Dr. Inmi Patterson presided over the handover.

According to a Press Release by the US Embassy in Tanzania, the U.S. trainers have worked with the TPDF APRRP unit, preparing to support peacekeeping, humanitarian, and disaster relief efforts in Tanzania and across the continent.

“The U.S. will remain a steadfast partner with the TPDF,” Chargé Patterson said at the ceremony, “and we will continue to support the APRRP unit as well as the pre-deployment training of Tanzanian peacekeepers.”