Foreign Minister Dr Vincent Biruta said it will take political will to restore Uganda-Rwanda relations.
In early next week Uganda vowed to free 130 Rwandan nationals.
The commitment was made during the virtual meeting of senior government officials from both countries on Thursday 4 June.
The progress has been somewhat. Uganda promises to release 130 Rwandan citizens. This is all very well. But there are many other outstanding issues that need to be addressed, including the ongoing arrest and harassment of Rwandans in Uganda, “Biruta said in a short press conference, in which he answered only two media questions.
“We realised that a lot more needs to be done for normal relations to return. There must be political will so that if any issue comes up we can have a way of resolving it,” Biruta added.
The officials agreed to hold another conference before recommendation can be made for a Heads of State summit.
“There will be another Ad Hoc Commission to discuss the way forward,” he said, not stating when exactly the next meeting would convene.
Biruta said that terrorist groups still operating in Uganda whose primary mission is to destabilize Rwanda are still active.
The meeting was also attended by Tete Antonio, Angola ‘s Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Gilbert Kankonde Malamba, DR Congo ‘s Deputy Prime Minister, and the Minister of Interior, Security and Customary Affairs, chaired by Uganda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sam Kutesa.
Angola and the DR Congo are facilitators in the ongoing process of trying to normalize Rwanda-Uganda relations.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has made it difficult to meet physically, Kutesa convened the meeting via videoconference.
Kutesa said Rwanda imposed an illegal embargo on Ugandan goods.
