The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vincent Waiswa Bagiire has said if Uganda and Rwanda continue embracing their Joint Permanent Commission (JPC), it will be used as a tool to deepen cooperation and enhance trade and investment between the two countries.
Mr Bagiire made this revelation while speaking during the 11th session of JPC between the Republic of Uganda and the Republic of Rwanda on Thursday in Kigali Rwanda.
He said JPC will lead to the creation of cooperation mechanisms which will foster bilateral trade and investments between the two countries. It will also deepen the countries’ engagements in various areas.
“In that regard, I take note of the various Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) that have been negotiated, concluded and ready for signature during this JPC. I commend the senior officials for concluding discussions and urge those responsible, to pursue the timely conclusion of the respective countries’ internal approval processes, to enable a signature. I firmly believe that the MoUs, when fully implemented, will enable us to achieve our desired objectives,” said PS Bagiire.
He however advised that for JPC to thrive smoothly, both countries must also embark on investing in infrastructure that link between them and within the region.
“To unlock our region’s economic potential we must focus on prioritizing the development of cross-border roads, railways, waterways, aviation, and ICTs, we can reduce the cost of doing business, increase trade, and stimulate economic growth – which is also integral to the attainment of the African Continental Free Trade Area,” he said.
Bagiire, therefore, called upon responsible parties from both countries to work together to revitalize the framework of the Northern Corridor Integration Project activities and come up with detailed plans for infrastructure development with a focus on; securing the financing needed to make it a reality, the Standard Gauge Railway, Operationalization of the Mbarara –Mirama – Shango Transmission line Uganda, Trade in power purchase − Cross-border interconnectivity (Fibre cable) between Uganda and Rwanda and designation of Uganda Airlines Route to Rwanda.
Meanwhile, this is the first Commission convened after more than 10 years. The last session was last held in 2012 and since then no sessions have been conducted due to the closure of the Rwanda-Uganda border in 2019 which caused misunderstanding between the countries.
Meanwhile, through JPC, both countries have penned down several agreements whose aim is to ensure the development and smooth flow of trade between them, such agreements include;
The MoU on Diplomatic and Political Consultations between Foreign Ministries intended to establish a formal framework for continuous bilateral engagement on all matters of mutual interest to both countries, at the regional and international level, including peace and security, and global and multilateral economic affairs, among others.
The MoU on cooperation on Migration matters intended to facilitate both countries combined efforts to eliminate irregular migration across their common borders, combat transnational crime within their territories as well as facilitate the free movement of people from both countries. This will further enhance bilateral trade and investment.
The agreement on Cooperation in Justice and Constitutionalism as well as the one on Mutual Legal Assistance will provide the framework for sharing knowledge on law reform processes, joint capacity building for both countries’ legal practitioners and exchange of evidence to aid prosecution of crimes, among others.
According to Mr Bagiire, there are a number of MoUs for Cooperation in other fields still under consideration such as; the MoU between Police services, one on Education and others.
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