The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Luanda, Angola | THE INDEPENDENT | President Joao Lourenço has invited his Congolese counterpart Denis Sassou Nguesso to attend the summit that will bring together the Presidents of Angola, Rwanda, Uganda and DRC to take place today in Luanda.
Both countries have excellent cooperative relations in political-diplomatic, oil, environment and other sectors, with Nguesso expected to play a role in discussions on efforts to eradicate Congolese and foreign armed groups operating in northern DRC.
President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Rwanda’s Paul Kagame are due in Angola for a second quadripartite summit that will also bring them together with President Lourenco of Angola and Felix Tshisekedi of DR Congo.
At the last meeting, Rwanda and Uganda reached understanding to resolve tensions that have erupted between their two countries in recent months, after contacts undertaken by Angola with the DR Congo’s assistance. The Angola foreign minister has in the past two weeks visited Kigali and Kampala to seal the deal.
The statement after the meeting said that “the summit welcomed the political will of (Rwanda and Uganda) to continue dialogue with a view to finding a solution to existing problems.”
Un mini Sommet des Chefs d’Etat RD-Congolais, angolais, rwandais, ougandais et congolais, ce mercredi 21 août 2019 à Luanda. L’objet de ce sommet est de concrétiser l’entente entre le Rwanda et l’Ouganda. Par la signature du Mémorandum d’entente de Luanda. pic.twitter.com/ZdirSzPvEo
— Présidence RDC 🇨🇩 (@Presidence_RDC) August 21, 2019
Minister Manuel Augusto delivers two messages of President João Lourenço, to his counterparts Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda.
🇦🇴🇷🇼🇺🇬 pic.twitter.com/LAiff8THbA
— MOFA / MRE Angola (@angola_Mirex) August 14, 2019
The August 21 event is a followup of the July 12 summit also held in Angola’s Luanda which brought together the heads of state of the four countries. The July meeting convened by the Angolan president was devoted to regional security, cooperation and strengthening of ties among the four countries.
Uganda-Rwanda tensions
Rwanda’s Kagame and Yoweri Museveni, once close allies, have exchanged public accusations of spying on each other’s territory and political interference.
Trade has been severely disrupted since late February when Rwanda abruptly closed the border with its northern neighbour, severing a major economic land route.
Apart from a brief interlude in June the frontier has mainly remained shut, damaging the economies of both countries reliant on cross-border trade.
In May, Ugandan police accused Rwandan soldiers of entering the country and killing two men, drawing an angry denial from Rwanda.
Analysts say the spat between Kagame and Museveni could threaten stability in the strife-prone region.
