Kagame, Museveni meet to repair bilateral relations

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame on Sunday agreed to explore new ways of improving relations in the wake of violent clashes between their armies in Kisangani, DRC, in early June. After a four-hour meeting in Entebbe, near the Ugandan capital Kampala, the two issued a statement in which they regretted the Kisangani fighting, reaffirmed their commitment to the demilitarisation of the city and the Lusaka ceasefire agreement, and promised to explore new ways of strengthening bilateral relations.

The two leaders said a joint committee would look into the clashes, and that mechanisms would be put in place “to address any future problems to ensure their peaceful resolution”, Radio Uganda reported. They also urged other parties to the conflict not to take advantage of their troops’ departure from Kisangani. Presidents Museveni and Kagame called on the UN to deploy peacekeepers in the DRC, and to provide resources for the inter-Congolese facilitator Ketumile Masire and the Joint Military Commission (JMC) established to implement the Lusaka agreement.

“I think the talks were successful as there was a desire to promote good bilateral relations,” Kagame said, on his return to Rwanda on Sunday. Museveni has accepted an invitation to pay a return visit to Rwanda at a date to be announced, news organisations reported.