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Wallace Ruzvidzo

Herald Reporter

71 officers drawn from the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, SADC, Regional and International Allied Defence Forces graduated at the Joint Command and Staff Course Number 37 on Friday.

Botswana had one, Eswatini (1), Tanzania (2), Lesotho (1), South Africa (3), Namibia (2), Kenya (1), Nigeria (1), Zambia (1) and Malawi (1). 14 percent of the graduates were female.

The ceremony was presided over by President Mnangagwa who said it was pleasing to note the continued fostering of relations in the sub-region.

“Such wide enrolment and interaction promotes solidarity and facilitates the cross-pollination of ideas and experiences. The student representation from East Africa is, thus, a welcome development,” said President Mnangagwa.

“As you are aware, seamless defence and security infrastructure go a long way towards ending the conflict on the African continent. I applaud the fact that this graduating class had the occasion to embark on external Study Tours to Cote d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea,

Tanzania, and Uganda, as part of their geo-political studies.

“This is also consistent with the principles of regional integration, solidarity, and cooperation. I hope that the lessons from the tours broadened the students’ appreciation of the key drivers of regional security and statecraft.”