Kampala, Kigali in joint border security operations

Rwanda and Uganda agreed on Thursday to conduct joint security operations along their common border in a bid to curb cross-border crime, a move that would also foster relations between the two countries.

At a meeting in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, officials of both countries said crimes such as drug trafficking, fraud and cross-border robbery were on the rise. They resolved to undertake joint security operations along the border.

In a statement issued after the meeting, officials resolved "to constantly exchange information between the two parties on issues of cross-border crime and carry out mobile patrols as a way of reducing the increasing crime".

Cases of robbery of vehicles, mainly from Rwanda to the Ugandan capital, Kampala, have increased lately. Similarly, vehicles and other valuable items stolen from Uganda have been taken into Rwanda with some articles ending up in parts of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The Kigali meeting was part of the Rwanda-Uganda Joint Commission - an initiative that has been instrumental in reviving relations strained during their intervention in the DRC. Rwanda and Uganda have clashed on several occasions in the past on Congolese territory between 1998 and 2002 in the course of the DRC's conflict.

Ugandan officials also agreed to mobilise Rwandan refugees still living in camps across Uganda to return home voluntarily.

Officials from both countries also promised to exchange information on the numbers and whereabouts of any of their nationals who may be detained in prisons in any of the countries.