President Yoweri Museveni has Friday held talks with his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame in Nairobi, Kenya.
Together with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)President Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, Museveni and Kagame are in Kenya to attend the signing ceremony of the treaty of accession by the DRC to the regional body, the East African Community (EAC).
Museveni has in a tweet said that he held a meeting with Kagame moments before witnessing the signing of the treaty.
DRC was days back officially admitted to the regional grouping bringing the total number of partner states to seven.
“I met with H.E Paul Kagame, the President of the Republic of Rwanda shortly before we both witnessed the signing of the Treaty of Accession by the Democratic Republic of Congo to EAC at State House, Nairobi,” wrote President Museveni on Friday afternoon.
The meeting of the two leaders could be one of the final steps in sealing the restoration the bilateral cooperation between Uganda and Rwanda that became frost in February 2019 when Rwanda closed Katuna/Gatuna border.
At the time, Kigali said the closure was due to the renovations at the border. Cargo was then diverted to Mirama Hills and Kyanika border posts in Ntungamo and Kisoro districts, but those too were later closed.
Rwanda shortly after, issued a travel advisory to its nationals warning them against travelling to Uganda, which it accused of, among other things, abducting its citizens and detaining them in ungazetted areas, allegations government of Uganda disputed.
When the border was closed, at least four tripartite meetings involving Angolan President Joao Lourenço, and DRC President Félix Tshisekedi, and a series of lower level meetings between government officials of the two nations were held but they did not yielded much.
It took the involvement of the UPDF Commander Land Forces, Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba who traveled twice to Kigali and met Kagame leading to the reopening of the borders and allowing cross movement of people and goods.
On March 6, Gen Muhoozi in a tweet said that he deserved a prize for championing negotiations that led to the full reopening of the borders between the two countries.
“The border is fully opening tomorrow. Me and my uncle (President Kagame) achieved in 7 hours what all the diplomats on earth failed to achieve. I think we need a prize,” wrote Muhoozi a day to the full reopening.