Japan has signed an agreement with UNDP to extend support for the Ethiopian Peace Support Training Centre (PSTC) and provide new funding of USD 729,000 for 2019-2020.

The agreement was signed by Japan’s Ambassador to Ethiopia H.E. Ambassador Daisuke Matsunaga , UNDP Ethiopia’s Resident Representative Ms. Louise Chamberlain and Brigadier General Habtamu Tilahun, Head of FDRE-PSTC.

UNDP has partnered with the Japanese government since 2013 to strengthen the capacity of the PSTC to promote peace and security in the continent. With the new resources, the total funding from Japan through the partnership with UNDP for the centre will be around USD 2.5 million. 

The PSTC was established in 2011 to provide training and build the capacity of civilians, military and police to serve in peacekeeping operations.

Ethiopia is one of the top troops contributing countries to the United Nations (UN) with more than 8,300 peacekeepers on the ground, and the first in African peacekeeping operations. It’s also one of the leading countries in deploying the highest number of women in peace operation.

The UNDP/Japan support focuses mainly on supporting the PSTC to provide international trainings on conflict prevention, conflict management, post conflict recovery and dialogue, negotiation and mediation courses to the local and international military, police and civilian peacekeeping practitioner.

Since 2013 the center has conducted 10 international level courses since the commencement of the project and a total of 254 peacekeeping practitioners (174 from Ethiopia and 77 from other countries) have graduated. Around 34 of the trainees were female.

International trainees are mainly drawn from the following countries: Tanzania, Rwanda, Djibouti, Burundi, Cameroon, Central Republic of Africa, Uganda, Somalia, Egypt, Mali, Liberia, Sudan, South Sudan and Kenya.