The President emphasised the need to ensure that economic growth translates into improved household incomes, citing government programmes such as Operation Wealth Creation and the Parish Development Model (PDM).
“Can you have a strong army and a strong and safe country without a strong economy? Can you have a strong defence force and a strong and safe country without cohesive politics? Finally, can you have a strong defence force and a strong and safe country without, in some cases, addressing the issue of geo-strategic location such as being landlocked?” President Museveni asked.
The governments of the US, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, the United Kingdom, alongside the African Union (AU), European Union (EU), Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), League of Arab States (LAS), and the United Nations (UN), expressed deep concern over the severe humanitarian consequences of the war.
The EASF, which was established in 2007 and reached full operational capability in December 2015, is the product of several factors that have defined regional integration in the field of peace and security in Eastern Africa and the Horn of Africa, including long-standing and continuing tensions between countries of the region and the threats to peace and security with internal wars, environmental degradation, terrorism, and unconstitutional changes of government notwithstanding.