PATRIOT PARK /Moscow Region/, August 15. /TASS/. Uganda is open for long-term military cooperation with Russia, considering it as a strategic security factor in Africa, Ugandan Defense Minister Vincent Ssempijja said on Tuesday.

"Uganda’s government maintains close relations with Russia on the basis of openness and respect to the sovereignty of other countries. As President [of Uganda Yoweri Kaguta] Museveni noted, our relation with Russia are really historic," he said at the 11th Moscow Conference on International Security. "Africa has been supported by the Russian people over the entire period of its struggle against the system of colonialism, and we value the sincere and mutually beneficial relations with Russia and stay open for long-term cooperation between the Russian and Ugandan defense ministries."

"Mutual cooperation between our defense ministries is a strategic factor we must use to encourage our partner countries in their fight against security threats, to strengthen mutual trust and strategic relations between our countries in the interests of our peoples," the Ugandan minister stressed.

The 11th Moscow Conference on International Security was held on Tuesday at the Patriot Congress and Exhibition Center. Representatives from defense agencies and international organizations, military experts and diplomats from several dozen countries discussed common threats to global and regional stability, as well as various aspects of security in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Europe. The central theme of the event, organized by the Russian Defense Ministry, was the establishment of interaction amid the new realities arising in the process of establishing a multipolar world order.

In total, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, more than 800 delegates from 76 countries took part in the conference. Interestingly, this list didnot include any Western states. According to the program, China, India, South Africa, Israel, Turkey, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and North Korea were invited. Representatives of eight international organizations, including the UN, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Arab League and the African Union, took part in the conference.