Uganda- Rwanda talks kick off on a low key
The second meeting between Uganda and Rwanda has kicked off at the Speke Resort hotel in Munyonyo, Kampala but on a low key.
On August, 21, in Luanda, the Angolan capital, Presidents Museveni and Paul Kagame signed a pact to end the bickering between the two close allies and this, they agreed would be followed by several meetings to fast –track the implementation of the agreement.
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On September 16, the first follow up meeting was held in Kigali but the second meeting that was supposed to be held on October 13 in Kampala was postponed twice.
On Friday, representatives from both countries met in Kampala but the meeting that was supposed to start in the morning did not kick off, not until 4pm.
Despite the Ugandan delegation led by Foreign Affairs Minister arriving early for the meeting, their Rwandan counterparts arrived a little later.
In his opening remarks, Domingos Manuel, the Angolan External affairs minister said as it was witnessed during the first meeting in Kigali, he hopes the second meeting will also be fruitful.
“We are confident both countries will work towards normalizing their relations,”Domingos said.
The Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary, Amb. Patrick Mugoya welcomed the Rwandan delegation for honoring the invitation for the meeting.
“I welcome you to Uganda and I must thank you for honoring our invitation for the second meeting, “Mugoya said.
Both parties are currently engaged in a closed door meeting before coming up with a joint communiqué.
Despite the signing of the August 21 pact, a few of the things agreed upon, have ever been fulfilled by both governments.
A few days after the pact, the Rwandan government blocked a number of Ugandan websites from being viewed in Kigali whereas in retaliation, Uganda blocked the Rwanda government website, the New Times over bad mouthing.
The relations between Uganda and Rwanda have in the past two years not been at their best with each of the two sister countries trading accusations against the other.
Whereas the Kigali establishment accuses Uganda of supporting forces bent on overthrowing their government and arresting their nationals, the Kampala government denies the claims and insists all those arrested were spies.
The frost relations climaxed early this year with the closure of the borders shared by the two countries by the Kigali establishment but the same has hurt Rwanda most because most of the products they use were either coming from Uganda or were passing through Uganda.
