President Yoweri Museveni has warmly welcomed Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta and his wife Margaret Kenyatta to Uganda, saying their visit will put more speed on what the two governments are doing to maximize the regions prosperity.
Museveni and his wife, Janet Museveni yesterday hosted their guests to a state dinner at State House, Entebbe. President Uhuru is in Uganda on a three day state visit at the invitation of President Museveni.
Museveni said Uganda has worked with Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi to resurrect the idea of shared prosperity through the East African Cooperation. He commended the former Kenyan President Daniel Arap Moi for the idea of East African Community that is still maintained and that has expanded to include other countries in the region.
“When we talk about the East African cooperation, we are talking about shared prosperity,” he said.
He thanked Kenyatta for ensuring that clearing of container goods in transit from Mombasa to Kampala has now reduced to three days from 18 days.
“We are working together on modernizing the railway to make it faster. When our efforts are concluded, the containers will be here in one day,” he said.
He said because of challenges in the region the governments of Uganda and Kenya are working together to ensure security stability in Somalia and in South Sudan.
On his part, President Kenyatta said there can be no lasting prosperity in Kenya or Uganda if our brothers and sisters in the region do not share the same prosperity.
He said that Kenya and Uganda are making progress which they want to fast tract and make it as inclusive as possible adding, that is why they are here to see how they can share ideas, opportunities and resolve together the problems that they confront.
“We are safer and stronger when we are together. The boundaries that separate us are boundaries that were not created by us,” he said.
He said all their ambitions as leaders, is to see how they can tear away those boundaries and go back to the days when their people were working together and were common problems were shared and resolved.
President Kenyatta is accompanied by The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Amb. Amina Mohamed, Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich (National Treasury); Minister for Defence Raychelle Omamo; and the Minister of Health James Macharia.
Today, President Kenyatta will tour the Quality Chemical Industries in Luzira and later address the Ugandan business community and Kenya’s diaspora.
Today Monday, President Uhuru will address Uganda’s Parliament and later hold a joint press conference with his host.
President Kenyatta, President Museveni, President Omar Bashir of Sudan and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn will meet under the auspices of IGAD to discuss the latest developments in South Sudan.
