By:The Homeland News Agency
Ugandan leader Yoweri Museveni has thanked his Angolan counterpart, Joao Manuel Lourenco, for overseeing a reinforcement process that has culminated into Uganda and Rwanda signing a pact to improve their political and economic relations.
This was a result of the agreement signed in Luanda Angola on Wednesday, Uganda and Rwanda will resume cross border activities. The agreement adds that whatever was agreed upon takes immediate effect.
President Museveni was speaking in the Angolan capital Luanda, shortly after the signing of the memorandum of understanding between Uganda and Rwanda governments aimed at to resolving tensions existing between the two countries.
The presidents also undertook, in the spirit of Pan-Africanism and regional cooperation, to comprehensively cooperate in politics, security, defence, trade, and culture.
“I thank President Lourenco
and Felix Tshisekedi of DR Congo for coming in so that we share the information
we had and ensuring that we have a communiqué with Rwanda,” he said.
President Museveni noted that he was already in touch with Kagame to seek a
resolution to the issues between the two countries when Presidents Lourenco and
Tshisekedi invited him to this summit.
“I was already in touch with President Kagame through our own channels,
but this came as reinforcement. We are just re-affirming what we have always
held as principles of the African Union,” he said during a media briefing
at the plush gardens of the Presidential Palace in Luanda.
The presidents of Angola and DR Congo are the facilitators of the agreement
whose signing yesterday began with a quadripartite summit on July 12th, where
the four leaders met and agreed to begin a resolution process.
THE
AGREEMENT
In the Luanda Agreement signed on Wednesday, the Ugandan and Rwandan leaders
agreed to respect each other’s sovereignty and of neighbouring countries.
They committed to refrain from actions conducive to destabilization or
subversion in the territory of the other party or neighbouring countries and
also eliminate all factors that may create such perception, as well as
financing, training, and infiltration of destabilising forces.
The leaders will respect and protect the rights and freedoms of the nationals
of the other party residing or transiting in there national territories, in
accordance with the laws of there countries.
The pact indicates that the two countries will resume cross-border activities,
including the movement of persons and goods.
The presidents also undertook, in the spirit of Pan-Africanism and regional
cooperation, to comprehensively cooperate in politics, security, defence,
trade, and culture.
To implement these resolutions, the leaders agreed to establish an ad-hoc
commission headed by ministers of foreign affairs and composed of ministers of
internal affairs/Administration and heads of intelligence, to see this through.
In the photo: Presidents; Joao Lourenco of Angola and Felix Tshisekedi of DR Congo for overseeing this process of witnessing the signing as Chair of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region.The Homeland News Agency/Photo/PPU
Presidents Museveni,
Kagame Comended
Addressing the media, host President Lourenco congratulated Presidents Museveni
and Kagame for making the signing of the agreement possible.
“The signing alone cannot replace the problem,” he said. “The
solution resides in the political will of the leaders to take full commitment
to respect what they have signed and we are very certain they will do
that.”
Co-facilitator President Tshisekedi was also full of praise for the two
principals, calling them “great Presidents” who had seen the
need to end the conflict and consider the superior needs of there nations.
President Dennis Sassou Nguesso of Congo-Brazzaville, who was the chief guest
by virtue of being chair of the International Conference on the Great Lakes
Region, said the agreement was a reflection of well-known African traditions of
solving problems through dialogue.
