President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has pledged to rally East African leaders behind efforts to strengthen the Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF), including reviving its long-delayed summit and improving its capacity to respond to regional crises.

Museveni, who currently chairs the East African Community (EAC), made the commitment on Thursday, August 13th, 2026, at State House, Entebbe, during a meeting with the EASF Director, Brigadier General Ronald Rwivanga.

Brig Gen Rwivanga briefed the President on the force’s operations and asked him to use his regional influence to secure stronger political backing for the bloc’s peace and security mechanism.

At the centre of the discussion was the need to bring all eligible countries more fully into the EASF and restore high-level political oversight of the force. Rwivanga specifically asked Museveni to engage Djibouti, Comoros and Sudan on their participation.

He also urged President Museveni to lobby regional leaders to convene the EASF Summit, which has not been held since 2014.

The summit, Rwivanga said, would give Heads of State and Government an opportunity to renew their political commitment to the force, provide strategic direction and agree on the resources needed to make it more effective.

Museveni pledged to engage his counterparts and support efforts to convene the summit.

He also backed efforts to improve the EASF’s financial capacity, particularly in areas such as humanitarian assistance, rescue operations, rapid deployment and emergency response.

The details of any financial commitments are expected to be considered by Heads of State and Government once the summit is convened.

The push to strengthen the force comes as EASF member states meet in Kampala for the 36th Ordinary Policy Organs Meeting, running from August 10th to 15th.

The meeting has brought together senior officials from member states to discuss the force’s strategic, operational and institutional capacity.

Uganda’s own readiness was also part of the briefing. Rwivanga told Museveni that the country had recently completed a three-day verification exercise to assess the military, police and civilian capabilities it has pledged to the EASF.

“The exercise assessed Uganda’s readiness, interoperability, personnel, equipment and capacity for rapid deployment in support of peace operations across the region,” he said.

The verification was conducted at the Uganda Police Force, the International Peace Support Operations Training Centre in Singo and the Uganda Rapid Deployment Capability headquarters in Jinja.

Rwivanga said the exercise was carried out in line with Article 12(2)(f) of the agreement establishing the EASF, which provides for the verification of capabilities pledged by member states.

Beyond the summit, EASF officials want to use renewed political engagement to address longstanding questions around membership, financing and operational readiness.

The force’s leadership is expected to engage Heads of State and Government after the summit in an effort to secure sustained political backing.

Museveni could have another opportunity to push the regional security agenda later this year. He is expected to chair the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government in December 2026, giving him another high-level platform to promote stronger regional and continental peace and security mechanisms.

For the EASF, the immediate challenge is turning political commitments into practical capacity. Its leadership wants the force to move beyond being a regional arrangement on paper and become a properly funded, politically supported and operationally ready mechanism capable of responding when crises emerge.

Also present at the meeting were Rosette Byengoma, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs; Daher Meraneti, the Head of Peace Operations Department at EASF; and Monalisa Kakono, the Head of the Civilian Component at EASF.