Kagame to meet Museveni over strained relations

Rwandan President Paul Kagame was due to meet his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni on Friday at Gatuna on the Rwandan side of the two countries’ border. According to a statement from Rwandan presidential spokesman Nicholas Shalita, the talks are expected to focus on improving strained relations between the two countries. “We would like to have good relations with all our neighbours, and we are ready to do what it takes to achieve this,” Kagame said in an address to mark the country’s Liberation Day on Wednesday. He added that “recent difficulties in relations with Uganda are unfortunate”, but he hoped the meeting with Museveni would result in improved ties. Earlier in the week, Kagame told news conference that the defection of senior Ugandan army officers to Rwanda “has nothing to do with me or the government of Rwanda”. He stressed that Rwanda neither accepted, nor supported statements against Uganda made by the officers. “The message has been made clear to these officers,” he said. “They cannot declare their hostile intent to their country from Rwanda where they are seeking asylum. These instructions will have to be followed by them or else we will have to re-think how we deal with them.” Elsewhere in the press conference, Kagame described the country’s internal politics as “dynamic”. “It is healthy and natural for people to agree and disagree on certain issues,” he said. “What is important is the broader picture; whether we sustain the stability, broader social and economic development and the democratisation process.”