Senior officials from Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have concluded three days of high-level negotiations on Friday, centered on an ambitious agenda to leverage surging bilateral trade as a stabilizing force for their perennially volatile borderlands.
The summit, held from Feb. 18 to 20 at the Mpondwe/Kasindi border post, arrived at a pivotal moment for the two neighbors.
Since the Congo’s accession to the East African Community in 2022, Uganda has seen its western neighbor become its premier African export destination, with total trade—both formal and informal—climbing to more than $962 million in the 2024-25 fiscal year.
Farid Kaliisa, Uganda’s ambassador to the Congo, and Divisional Commissioner Karawa de Ngamo Louis Segond, the vice governor of North Kivu Province, led the delegations.
In a joint statement, the officials sought to reframe the frontier from a site of historical friction into a "bridge" for shared economic prosperity.
The economic interdependence of the region was a primary focus of the talks. Vice Governor Karawa characterized Uganda as a critical lifeline for eastern Congo, providing the household essentials, agricultural produce and construction materials necessary for the province's recovery and development.
According to Bank of Uganda data, formal exports to the Congo jumped 29 percent year-over-year, reaching $542.74 million in the last fiscal year.
To sustain this momentum, the delegations moved to institutionalize security and customs coordination. Officials directed technical teams to operationalize a Joint Border Operations Committee by May 2026, which will be tasked with integrating customs systems and conducting regular joint patrols.
Security coordination remains a cornerstone of the relationship. The officials praised the ongoing cooperation between the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, noting that joint military efforts have begun to stabilize territories adjacent to the border.
However, diplomatic hurdles remain regarding the movement of people. During the sessions, Ugandan representatives pressed the Congolese government to implement reciprocal visa waivers for Ugandan nationals. While Uganda eliminated visa requirements for Congolese citizens in January 2024, the Congo has yet to reciprocate.
The summit also addressed the management of shared natural resources. The delegations adopted a roadmap for the Lakes Edward and Albert Fisheries and Aquatic Organization, which includes the acquisition of modern surveillance equipment to monitor the shared waters of the two lakes.
The meeting followed the framework established during the eighth Uganda-Congo Joint Permanent Commission and a business forum held in Butembo last year.
