Japan has donated 16 patrol vehicles to the East African Community for border security operations aimed at combating smuggling, curbing cross-border crime and facilitating regional trade. The vehicles were provided under a border security enhancement project implemented through collaboration between the EAC, the Japanese government and the United Nations Office for Project Services. Each of the EAC's eight member states received two vehicles, which will be handed over to police departments and other relevant institutions.
The donation follows a technical assessment of 16 One-Stop Border Posts that identified inadequate transport and limited mobility among frontline officers as major challenges undermining border security and trade facilitation. EAC Secretary General Ambassador Stephen Mbundi said the assessment covered locations including the Sirari-Isebania border post between Tanzania and Kenya, as well as Malaba between Kenya and Uganda. The EAC serves a market of more than 300 million people, according to Ambassador Mbundi.
Ambassador Mbundi stated that secure borders are essential to promoting trade, investment and economic development, and that border security and trade facilitation should not be viewed as competing objectives. He said the vehicles would improve officers' ability to patrol border areas, combat illicit trade and respond to cross-border crimes while enhancing public safety and the movement of goods. He added that peace and security were essential foundations for socio-economic development.
Japan's Embassy Head of Economic Cooperation and Development, Mr Jin Hashimoto, said the project was particularly significant because it covered all eight EAC member states rather than benefiting Tanzania alone. He said Japan would continue working with the regional bloc to promote peace, security and development, urging recipient countries to maintain the vehicles properly to ensure their long-term operational effectiveness. UNOPS Director for the East and Southern Africa Multi-Country Office, Mr Massimo Diana, said the vehicles would help improve border services, strengthen community security and make regional trade safer and more reliable.