Rwandan President Paul Kagame has urged Uganda to take action on the strained diplomatic relations that currently persist between the two neighbors in East Africa, reports a source close to the Rwandan government.
The two countries are in conflict over security and espionage issues. Last week, senior government officials exchanged harsh words on Twitter. Rwanda closed its border with Uganda in March 2019, and a reconciliation agreement signed months later in the Angolan capital, Luanda, failed to calm the two neighbors.
In the two-page agreement, heads of state committed to respecting seven key points, including “respecting [each other’s] sovereignty and that of their neighboring states conflict”. And refuse to engage in “any action that may lead to destabilization,” including the funding or training of so-called “destabilizing” forces, in one or other of the parties, and beyond in all neighboring states.
President Kagame said Wednesday at a gathering of foreign diplomats in the capital, Kigali, that it was time for the two countries to “do what is right,” reports the New Times. “The integration of regions and communities does not happen simply because you make it a slogan. No, it happens because you do the right thing,” said President Kagame.
“Treat your neighbor the way you want to be treated. Don’t just chase the locals to this point and then go back and say that these border issues are nonsense. No, what is more nonsense is what you are doing to your neighbor, and that actually creates that barrier,” added Mr. Kagame.
The source reports that the president has declared that Rwanda will respect its obligations under the Luanda agreement. At the last meeting between the two neighbors in Kigali in September, Rwanda gave Uganda a list of 200 names of citizens who he says are illegally detained in Uganda and should be released to ease tensions between the two countries.
