Ethiopia and Kenya have signed a new Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA), six decades after their first pact in 1963, the year Kenya gained independence.

The agreement was concluded on 24 September 2025 at Ethiopia’s National Defense Headquarters in Addis Ababa, following a bilateral meeting between Field Marshal Birhanu Jula, Chief of General Staff of the Ethiopian Armed Forces, and General Charles Muriu Kahariri, Kenya’s Chief of Defense.

Building on their longstanding diplomatic, political, and economic ties, the two nations aim to enhance collaboration in intelligence sharing, joint military exercises, training, defense industry development, counter-terrorism, border security, and other military areas.

Officials said the accord will strengthen regional peace and security amid ongoing challenges and follows a series of prior military engagements between the two countries.