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afrol.com, 25 September - This weekend, the President of Uganda, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, paid a one-day official working visit to Rwanda on Friday on the invitation of his counterpart, the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame. Reportedly, the atmosphere was "warm and cordial" - just one year after the bloody clashes between Rwandan and Ugandan forces in Kisangani (Congo Kinshasa). President Museveni arrived at Kanombe Airport on Friday morning and was met by his host, President Kagame. The arrival ceremony was followed by talks between the two Presidents and their delegations, "which were held in a warm and cordial atmosphere," according to a press statement by the Rwandan presidency. The talks centred on issues of mutual interest. Both leaders emphasized the need to strengthen the already strong historical ties between the two countries. They expressed the need to convene the Fourth Session of the Joint Permanent Commission between the two countries soon to implement plans for closer bilateral relations. The two Heads of State also reviewed regional issues relating to Congo Kinshasa (DRC) and Burundi. On the DRC, the Heads of State reiterated their commitment to the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement, and resolved to work together to realize its full implementation. They also called upon the United Nations to support efforts to implement the Lusaka Agreement and to station UN peacekeepers in the DRC. The UN Security Council, on the other hand, keeps demanding that Uganda and Rwanda retreat from DRC territory. In June, the Council demanded that Uganda and Rwanda, "which had violated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, withdraw all their troops from the country's territory without further delay; and that all other foreign military presences and activity in Congolese territory be brought to an end in conformity with the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement." Tension between the two neighbour states built up on the background of the conflict in the DRC. A report by the International Crisis Group from May this year, traced in detail how two neighbours who had been the best of friends fell out over differences of approach to the war in the Congo. Uganda's strategy had been to mobilise the Congolese people to fight Kabila and empower them to develop an alternative leadership. The Rwandans, more skeptical about an internal political solution, had made their first priority a secure border with the DRC. Differences between Rwanda and Uganda turned into open hostility and severe fighting in the DRC town of Kisangani earlier this year. Since then, the atmosphere has been poisoned and cooperation has been almost non-existent. The Lusaka Agreement - and the commitment of both countries to the new ceasefire in the DRC which came into effect on 14 April 2000 - may well have been the only unifying factor between the Rwandan and Ugandan leaderships at this point. Further, the massive attacks from other African states, headed by the DRC of Kabila and his allies Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia in what has been called "The First African War" has made it necessary for Rwanda and Uganda to stand united.
In a short press conference after the talks between presidents Kagame and
Museveni this weekend, Kagame expressed satisfaction at the good state of relations between the two countries, as demonstrated by the successful official working visit by his counterpart, President Museveni.
President Museveni left Kigali of Friday evening on completion of his visit. Source:
Press Office of the President of Rwanda and ICG
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