(Bloomberg) -- The presidents of Rwanda and Uganda agreed to mend political fences after deepening tensions that culminated in blocked trade between the East African neighbors.
Rwanda closed its biggest border with Uganda in February, accusing the state of torturing and deporting its citizens, frustrating its traders and supporting a rebel force made up of some of the fighters that perpetrated the 1994 genocide. Uganda denied the allegations.
“I think it is not very difficult to address many of the problems we have had, it may take a bit of time to understand each other, but I think we have come a long way,” Rwandan President Paul Kagame said in comments posted on Twitter.
Why a Closed Border Has Uganda, Rwanda at Loggerheads: QuickTake
There have been signs of deepening hostility between Kagame and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who fought together to bring an end to military dictatorship in Uganda in the 1980s and to halt the Rwandan genocide. When Museveni replaced his police chief last year, some analysts suggested he was trying to stop Rwandan spies from infiltrating the Ugandan security forces to eliminate rebels feared to be recruiting members from refugee camps in Uganda.
Kagame said the agreement signed on Wednesday in Luanda, the capital of Angola, addresses issues including the border's closure and trade blockages.
“The memorandum of understanding addresses all these matters very clearly and I don't think we should be picking and choosing what we implement and what we don't,” he said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Saul Butera in Kigali at sbutera2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Malingha at dmalingha@bloomberg.net, Helen Nyambura, Jacqueline Mackenzie
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