Uganda: DR Congo Partners with Uganda to Construct 1,200km connecting road

President Felix Tshisekedi of DR Congo and President Yoweri Museveni have reached a trade agreement to ease tensions experienced in the last few months. In what will go down as a move in the right direction for Africa, Uganda and DR Congo have reached an agreement to boost trade ties between the two countries. The President of DR Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, was in Uganda over the weekend to open talks with his counterpart, President Yoweri Museveni on how both countries can promote trade between them.

You will recall that neighbouring Rwanda recently closed its borders with Uganda, and this has created huge tensions in the country. DR Congo seems to have come to the aim of Uganda to become a significant trade partner as both countries have resolved to construct the road that links both countries jointly. After meeting with Congo’s leader in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, on Saturday Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni said the two countries would build stronger ties.

“We shall build roads and bridges connecting the two countries,” said Museveni. “This is about trade, social welfare and security. To guarantee security, you need roads for easy movement of soldiers. But this can also help people to move to hospitals.”

Trade between the two countries was USD 513 million last year but could increase as Uganda now eyes neighbouring Congo, following the closure of the border with Rwanda in February.

Museveni and Tshisekedi agreed to jointly build 1,200 kilometres of roads from Uganda to the three eastern Congo cities, Goma, Bunia and Beni. The pledge to build new roads to the eastern Congo centres comes even though different rebel groups have attacked them in Congo and that Congo is currently fighting an Ebola outbreak in the area.The presidents said the two countries’ ministers of foreign affairs; infrastructure and finance would meet within two months and to plan construction of the roads.