Museveni in Kenya: 'We must fulfill historical mission of EAC'

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 DIPLOMACY 

When President William Ruto stood behind the lectern for a second time before a keen audience of reporters and government officials at State House in Kenya's capital Nairobi on Thursday, he concluded the nearly hour-long briefing with a tone of optimism.

Turning to his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni, the Kenyan leader used a biblical reference to say that the long-desired East African political federation is close to being a reality.

"I am reminded that the children of Israel took 40 years for a journey that would have taken them maybe a year or two. So, we [East Africans] may have taken 60 years but I think we are now going to get it done shortly — and to consolidate the East African Community into what we all want it to be."

The huge round of applause that met Ruto's optimistic conclusion summed up the positive air around his and visiting Museveni's bilateral meetings earlier.

Earlier, the two presidents had emerged from the doors of State House to do two things.

First, to witness the signing of a tripartite agreement in relation to importation and transit of refined petroleum products through Kenya to Uganda by the Uganda National Oil Company Ltd (UNOC).

And then to brief reporters about what they had talked about behind closed doors.

Ugandan and Kenyan government officials, including ministers, were present for this briefing.

President Yoweri Museveni arrives at State House Kenya for bilateral talks with President William Ruto

To begin with, the tripartite agreement is between the Kenyan government (through its energy and petroleum ministry), the Ugandan government (through its energy ministry) and UNOC.

The signing of the agreement was brief and straightforward.

Dr Okaasai Opolot (Uganda's energy state minister), Mohamed Liban (the principal secretary for Kenya's State Department for Petroleum) and Proscovia Nabbanja (the CEO of UNOC) signed the agreement.

'Deeply rooted relations'

After the agreement signing formalities were out of the way, President Ruto stood up to deliver his remarks.

He started off by saying that President Museveni's visit to Nairobi "underscores the profound significance we, as leaders, attach to the bilateral relations between Kenya and Uganda and to our shared commitment to further develop and grow our relations".

He said Kenya and Uganda are "firmly united by relations deeply rooted in shared history, culture and aspirations for regional peace and prosperity".

The two leaders believe in the need to maintain strong bilateral relations and said they are committed to expanding them for the mutual benefits of their two nations and two peoples.

Instruments to buoy 'transformative trajectory'

Ruto and Museveni's meeting in Kenya's capital came on the heels of the Second Session of the Joint Ministerial Committee that was held from May 12-14 in Kampala.

At the conclusion of this session was the signing of seven instruments of co-operation between Uganda and Kenya.

Ruto provided a brief on those agreements.

"Consequently, we now have a memorandum of understanding to anchor co-operation between our foreign services institutions to ensure knowledge exchange and harmonization of structures and content of diplomatic training.

"We also have MOUs on co-operation of public service and development whose objective is to enhance service delivery by our two public service institutions.

"In addition to this, an MOU to faciliate co-operation in youth affairs has been signed, which enables us optimize the capabilities of our youthful democratic groups by obliging the two countries to implement innovative national policies and programmes relevant to young people.

In Kampala, the Joint Ministerial Committee witnessed the signing of an MOU on co-operation in sports, which, according to Ruto, demonstrated "the seriouness we both attach to sports promotion and development in the mobilization of investments that unlocks the potential of the sports sector".

"This instrument is even more timely as we lay the ground work for jointly hosting [Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania] the 2027 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations tournament."

The Kenyan president said further: "Additionally, we have an instrument to guide our strategic co-operation in education, training and science as well an MOU in small and medium-size enterprises and gender equality and women's empowerment.

"Finally, as we have witnessed, the tripartite agreement on the importation and transit of refined petroleum products through Kenya to Uganda enables Uganda National Oil Company Ltd to import refined product commodities directly from producers in different jurisdictions, thus bringing to an end the challenges faced by the sector in Uganda.

"We will continuously provide support to ensure that this new agreement is implemented, is functioning and is mutually beneficial. It is in our place as Kenya to support Uganda to achieve its aspirations when Kenya is called upon.

"We are confident that these instruments will consolidate our strong relations and anchor it on a transformative trajectory. As leaders, we are committed to implementing all our obligations in order to reap their full benefits," added Ruto.

'Unimpeded trade'

The Kenyan leader then provided a summary of what transpired in their bilateral meeting.

"We have agreed on making sure that trade between our two countries [Uganda and Kenya] is unimpeded either by tariff or non-tariff barriers or levies that are arbitrarily levied," he said.

"We have agreed that the common principle will be the full implementation of the EAC Customs and other infrastructure that support trade between East African countries.

"Therefore, all the issues around rice, juice, furniture, eggs, chicken, sugar are now resolved.

The two presidents also agreed that they will now explore jointly the extension of the pipeline from Eldoret to Kampala, which will form the agenda in the next Joint Ministerial Committee.

"We have also agreed to synergize matters on environment to see how we can build our restoration of degraded wetlands and fragile ecosystems, including our water towers that is currently being undertaken in Kenya, including the planting of 15 billion trees to see how that can be synergized with the environmental programme that is going on in Uganda, understanding and realizing that climate change has no boundaries," said Ruto.

"We have also agreed jointly on matters of peace, security and stability in our region and we hold common position on what should happen in eastern DR Congo, in South Sudan, in Sudan, in Somalia and in our region in general."

The meeting also emphasized the importance of extending the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) from Naivasha to Malaba (Uganda-Kenyan border) as well as all the way to Kampala and DR Congo "as an efficient and sustainable infrastructural artery for the transportation of goods".

"We have obliged our respective ministers to take joint urgent measures to mobilize resources for the implementation of this regionally shared infrastructure and report on the progress by the end of this year," said Kenya's president.

'Federation of shared vision'

"As pertains our regional agenda, President Museveni and I appreciate that the benefits and power of our close coordination with respect to the East African Community [EAC], Intergovernmental Authority on Development [IGAD] and the African Union [AU] and other regional organizations, which we recognize as the building blocks for the greater integration of our countries at the continental and international level," said Ruto.

"I appreciate with tremendous gratitute President Museveni's contribution and selfless dedication to building a robust East African Community and transitioning it into a federation of shared vision and values.

"I have also expressed to His Excellency, the people and the government of Uganda the appreciation of Kenyans from all walks of life for Uganda's endorsement of the Kenyan candidate [veteran politician and Ruto's presidential election main challenger Raila Odinga] for the position of African Union Commission chairperson and assured him of our full confidence that our candidate will deliver effective leadership at the Commission.

Security matters

Ruto and Museveni also shared their concern about the threat of terrorism and insecurity in the region and affirmed their committment to strengthening regional peace and security approaches and programmes.

"Kenya will continue to consult and work closely with Uganda in addressing security challenges in our sub-region, including in the Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, DR Congo and elsewhere," added Ruto.

During their meeting, they also "expressed concern on the drawdown of ATMIS in Somalia and we urged that the timelines for the drawdown align with the security conditions on the ground in Somalia, not just the calendar that has been laid out".

Kenya's leader said further: "Let me reiterate that President Museveni's visit underscores the enduring bonds of friendship and partnership for peace and development between Kenya and Uganda.

"As we continue on this journey of co-operation and solidarity, we have used today's visit to reaffirm our committment to do even more together for the greater good of our nation, our region and our continent.

Solving border issues

Museveni and Ruto said they have also agreed on the border issues that have been of concern to border communities.

"Shortly, we will be visiting those regions with a view to bringing the communities together," said Ruto.

"I take this opportunity to assure Your Excellency of my personal support and commitment of the Republic of Kenya to work with you and the Government of Uganda in furthering our bilateral agenda and mutual interest of our people.

And with that Ruto had summarized what he and Museveni have agreed on.

'We have lost six decades'

According to Museveni, all what has been agreed "is guided by the historical missions which the Africans have finally crystalized".

"More than 60 years ago, when we got independence, we did not harmonize properly on the historical mission beyond liberation. There was talk that time of uhuru na umoja but it was not deeply disassembled," he said in his comments. 

"That is why we have lost six decades.

"As you can see in Africa, we have got so many problems: the collapse of state authority in so many countries. This is not accidental. This was inevitable and predictable," said Museveni.

"But now, (...) a cluster of actors, including President Ruto, are beginning to see the way forward."

The Ugandan president spoke of the desired historical missions being strived for.

One of them is creating prosperity in the modern way by encouraging citizens to join the money economy.

Museveni said ensuring the prosperity of people should be complemented with assuring them of a reliable, big market.

"This [political] integration is to fight the battle of prosperity. If somebody is efficiently producing something and we support him, he will grow and grow and grow."

'We shouldn't waste this opportunity'

Museveni also underlined the issue of strategic security through political integration. "You cannot handle it by merely being in an economic community. The only way you can do it is through political integration".

He said he flew to Nairobi to "implement what we missed in 1963".

"Our leaders would have achieved it that time but some of them were diverted. If we had formed the East African Federation in 1963, many of the problems would have been avoided."

The Ugandan leader added that all the projects agreed on "will now move us closer to the three historial missions: prosperity through wealth creation and market access, strategic security and utilizing maximally the undugu [brotherhood]."

"We should not waste the opportunity. This is the only way not leave anybody behind."

When Ruto stepped back up after Museveni's remarks, he said he agreed with him.

"What we are trying to forge now, we missed it by a whisker in 1963. If the EAC had not collapsed then, we would have a different region by now but it is said it is never too late to do the right thing.

"Therefore, I think we are on time."

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