The restoration of Rwanda-Uganda relations is a process, not something that is achieved in just one day, Edouard Ngirente, the Prime Minister has said. He made the remarks during a press conference where he, along with several other government officials, spoke to journalists on a number of economic and political issues affecting the country. One of the journalists asked him whether the travel advisory that Rwanda issued three years ago, discouraging its citizens from traveling to Uganda still exists. The question was asked in the context of recent signs that the two countries had demonstrated efforts to normalise relations, especially after Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the Senior Presidential Advisor on Special Operations and Commander of Land Forces of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces visited Rwanda twice this year. He held talks with President Kagame. “I want us to understand that foreign relations is a process. It takes time and has many steps. If problems come up and require to be discussed, you have to talk about them, get one out of the way today, and then in the following days, deal with another. These are not things that get done in only one day,” Ngirente said. He added: “Even the advisory that was issued discouraging people from traveling to particular countries has time when it will be removed. But all things cannot be dealt with at one time.” Issued in March 2019, the advisory urged Rwandans to desist from travelling to Uganda because of safety concerns. Dr. Richard Sezibera who was the Foreign Affairs Minister then told The New Times in an exclusive interview that Rwanda could not guarantee the security of its people traveling to Uganda. “We have advised Rwandans not to go to Uganda because we cannot guarantee their security in Uganda,” he said then, outlining Kigali’s three main complaints against Kampala, including incidents of continued harassment and arrests of Rwandan nationals, Uganda offering a safe haven to anti-Rwanda military groups, and seizure of Rwandan exports. This year has seen a number of positive developments in the Rwanda-Uganda ties, for instance, the re-opening of the Gatuna border. Speaking about Kainerugaba’s first visit, Ngirente said it saw a number of issues worked on, and he expressed confidence over continuous interactions between the two countries, noting that Rwanda may also send some special envoys to Uganda in the future.
