Uganda takes part in Russia security meeting as insecurity takes peak in the country

The 8th International Meeting of High-Ranking Security Officials hosted by Russia in Zavidovo, a national park in Varaksino, Tver region, took place in May 23-25, 2017, reports the Uganda Embassy in Moscow. Uganda was represented by a high-powered delegation led by Hon. Lt. General Henry Tumukunde, Minister for Security. The Annual meeting was organized by Russia’s Federal Security Council.

The Ugandan delegation consisted of ICT and information security specialists, an international counter terrorism expert and Charge D’Affaires a.i. of Uganda to Moscow, Ambassador Gideon Mwebaze Rutazindwa. Present at the meeting were 95 foreign delegations from around the world headed by top officials of national security agencies.  Also in attendance were representatives of the United Nations Secretariat.

In his opening remarks, Secretary of the Russian Federal Security Council Nikolai Patrushev stressed the importance of the international community’s collective efforts in addressing security issues, stating that in the era of well-developed information technology, security threats are closely linked, so countries should coordinate to deal with these threats.

Head of Delegation Lt. Gen. Henry Tumukunde made two presentations on security topics on the role of modern technologies in international information security and measures to maintain it and Main directions of international cooperation in fighting transnational organized crime. In his statement, Hon Tumukunde said that “ … Failure to fully share information and intelligence sometimes undermines the international information security effort.  International information security is only as good as its weakest component.  In that regard, disregarding lesser developed countries such as Uganda only contributes to the digital divide, which is an insidious risk”.

The Uganda delegation also contributed to three featured roundtable discussions namely; The ISIS Phenomenon: the tasks of the international community in the fight against international terrorism, The problem of the “color revolutions” and other tools of destabilizing sovereign states and The military-political situation in the Asia-Pacific Region and forecasts of its development.

During his stay in Russia, Hon Tumukunde and Amb. Rutazindwa held two bilateral meetings on the side-lines of the main conference with the Secretary of the Russian Federal Security Council and with the Chinese Vice-Minister for Security.