Rwanda, Uganda relations excellent â€" Kigali minister

Oct 12, 2010

RWANDA’s foreign affairs minister, Louise Mushikiwabo, has said Rwanda and Uganda currently enjoy excellent diplomatic relations.

By George Kalisa

RWANDA’s foreign affairs minister, Louise Mushikiwabo, has said Rwanda and Uganda currently enjoy excellent diplomatic relations.

Mushikiwabo attributed the good relations to the history and developmental vision the countries share.

“I would like to use this opportunity to commend the people and the government of Rwanda for the brotherly relations existing between our two countries. We have the same names, business interests and family relations.

“Our governments are linked with close historical ties of common quality values. Rwanda and Uganda share colonial heritage including issues of dictatorship and liberation struggles,” she said.

Mushikiwabo was speaking over the weekend during celebrations to mark Uganda’s 48th independence anniversary.

She was chief guest at the annual dinner dance festival hosted by the Uganda High Commission at Serena Hotel, Kigali.

The ceremony was organized by the Ugandan High Commissioner, Richard Kabonero and was attended by the Ugandan community in Rwanda, their Rwandan friends and diplomats.

Mushikiwabo said the common values shared by Rwanda and Uganda prevail in the various regional forums to which the two countries are signatories.

She cited the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA), African Union, Non-Aligned Movements, United Nations and the World Trade Organisation.

Mushikiwabo noted that trade, peace, security, justice, education and agriculture were some of the other areas of cooperation between the two countries.

Kabonero said Uganda stood with Rwanda against the mapping report that implicated Rwanda in human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The report was released last month by the UN office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The celebrations included a dinner, a documentary on Uganda’s tourism industry and a performance by Isaiah Katumwa.

Guests also took part in a chance game by putting together their business cards that ended with three winners being awarded free air tickets to Uganda by the Uganda Airlines.

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