Kagame’s Kampala visit

The official statement from State House after the meeting said the Rwandan leader was in Uganda to brief Museveni on the recent AU deal in Kigali, a development, which paves the way for the creation of one African market.

The statement said the two presidents also discussed other issues including the railway line works, electricity supply, airline operations and security between the two countries and the region.

Hours later, the presidents addressed a joint news conference.  President Museveni stressed the need for close cooperation between the two countries’ intelligence services “in order to get facts and secure the region.”

Museveni told the media that he and Kagame had agreed to have Ugandan and Rwandan intelligence services forge a close cooperation. The cooperation, Museveni noted, should not only be on security matters but also development.

Museveni said there was no fundamental conflict between Rwanda and Uganda adding that security agencies of the two countries must cooperate and make use of technology to solve security matters.

“A girl was recently kidnapped and killed and the suspect was in South Africa. I personally called President (Cyril) Ramaphosa and action was taken. People and countries involved in such matters, must work closely,” he said.

Museveni also said that it was beneficial for Rwanda and Uganda to cooperate in other areas like trade and infrastructural development as a way of fostering Uganda-Rwanda relations.

“Rwanda has gas; we have iron ore. Why should we import steel from Singapore? The Ministry of Planning should consider developing such a project with Rwanda,” he said.

On allegations that Ugandans in Rwanda were losing job contracts, President Kagame said the concerned institutions in both countries should get to the bottom of the matter because some issues were reported out of context.

Both Kagame and Museveni also agreed that the Joint Permanent Commission (JPC) between the two countries provides a good mechanism for discussing matters of mutual interest and strengthening cooperation. They therefore directed their Ministers responsible for Foreign Affairs to convene the next JPC within three months

Following the visit, President Kagame also extended an invitation to President Museveni to visit Rwanda at a date to be communicated later. Many hope that these visits could mark a return to normalcy in the bilateral relations of the two countries.