1. Japan will dispatch 17 instructors from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force and 1 support personnel from the Secretariat of the International Peace Cooperation Headquarters, Cabinet Office to a training which aims to instruct engineering personnel from the Kenya Defence Forces on the operation of heavy equipment required for engineering activities. The training will take place in Kenya from June 6th as part of the UN Project for African Rapid Deployment of Engineering Capabilities (ARDEC), which is implemented by the UN Department of Field Support.

2. In recent UN PKOs, the lack of heavy equipment of engineering units and their operators has been a great challenge for conducting humanitarian assistance activities and ensuring the safety and security of peacekeepers. To overcome these challenges, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed a commitment to contribute to the rapid deployment of these equipment and personnel with engineering capabilities at the Summit Meeting on UN PKOs held in September 2014.

3. Following Prime Minister Abe’s commitment, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan provided financial contribution to the UN for the procurement of heavy equipment and the implementation of training, and dispatched 11 trainers from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force to the trial training held in Kenya last year. This year, Japan will continue to dispatch trainers from the Ministry of Defense, as well as support personnel from the International Peace Cooperation Headquarters, Cabinet Office.

4. The UN plans to conduct this training on heavy equipment again from August to October 2016.

【Reference】Outline of the training

Period of training : June 6th – July 29th, 2016
Location of training : Nairobi (Kenya International Peace Support Training Centre)
Instructors : 17 personnel led by Major Hiroyuki Tamaki, and International Peace Cooperation Programme Adviser Ms Risa Arai
Contents of the training : Instructing engineering personnel from the Kenya Defence Forces on the operation and maintenance of heavy equipment required for engineering activities