President Yoweri Museveni will next week meet with former Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa, to hold discussions on the crisis in Burundi.
The disclosure was made by Mr Mkapa, the Facilitator of the Inter-Burundi Dialogue, while meeting the Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly Rt Hon Dan Fred Kidega in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
The discussions between Mr Mkapa and Rt Hon Kidega centred on peace and security in the region with the former president saying the Inter-Burundi dialogue remained a priority of the EAC. He also stated his intention to meet with the Chair of the Summit of EAC Heads of State, Tanzanian president Dr John Pombe Joseph Magufuli, for consultations in the coming week.
He expressed hope that the Dialogue process would bring all Burundians to a common understanding that will result in peace, democracy and prosperity in the country.
According to Mr Mkapa, the region had no option but to ensure tranquil is sustained for its progress and development and reiterated the need for the Partner States and the Community to stand by each other and to harness the strengths in order for the bloc to progressively move forward.
On his part, the EALA Speaker said that the EAC had a fundamental role to ensure sustenance of peace in all the Partner States. He remarked that Burundi was showing signs of tranquility, but added that there was increasing need to re-integrate all its citizens.
The Speaker reiterated that one of the issues that underpin integration is that of finding solutions to the problems that may bedevil the Partner States, which he termed as “part of enhancing the bonds of sisterhood”.
He lauded the Summit of EAC Heads of State for recently directing that additional resources geared towards the Inter-Burundi Dialogue be availed. He informed Mr Mkapa that EALA was eager and keen to debate and approve a Supplementary Budget on the same.
The Speaker said EALA would also dispatch a team of Members from two Committees, Committee on Trade and Investments and that of Regional Affairs and Conflict Resolution to the border of Burundi and Rwanda to investigate on claims of restriction of goods and movement of persons at the border-point.
