Uganda President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and his Democratic Republic of Congo counterpart today Wednesday Felix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo commissioned the construction of the cumulative 233km road project between the two countries at Mpondwe in Kasese district in western Uganda, through the minister for Works and Transport will be injecting up to Shs 243.7 billion into the Congo roads project. Below is the joint communique released by the two presidents.
At the invitation of His Excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda, His Excellency Felix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo led a delegation comprised of H.E. Alexis Gisaro Muvunyi, Senior Minister of Infrastructure and Public Works and Lt. Gen. Ndima Kongba Constant, Governor of North Kivu Province as well as other Senior Government Officials to the Ground- Breaking Ceremony of the road infrastructure at Mpondwe in Kasese District in the Republic of Uganda and Kasindi in North Kivu Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The two Heads of State exchanged views on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest. They reiterated their commitment to promoting trade, investment and common infrastructure as well as deepening integration among the peoples of the African continent.
They stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation in different sectors including; security, infrastructure connectivity, energy, trade and investment, health, management of transboundary water resources, petroleum and minerals with the view to promoting peace, stability and prosperity of the two countries.
The Heads of State recalled the State Visit to Uganda by His Excellency Felix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo which took place from 9-10 November 2019 and welcomed the progress made in the implementation of the decisions agreed upon during the Visit.
The two Heads of State applauded the signing of the Inter- Governmental Agreement (IGA) and the Project Development Agreement (PDA) concerning the joint implementation of the road infrastructure project covering the Mpondwe/Kasindi-Beni Road (80 kilometers); the Bunagana-Rutshuru-Goma Road (89 kilometers); and the Beni-Butembo Axis (54 kilometers) on the territory of the Democratic Republic of Congo on 27th May 2021 at State House, Entebbe.
In a Ground- Breaking Event, the Heads of State commissioned the construction of the road infrastructure between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo and underlined that this historical event, will cause a tremendous change in the socio-economic transformation of lives of the two peoples. They directed the Contractor to execute the construction works in a timely manner.
The two Heads of State welcomed the construction of Mpondwe Bridge by Government of the Republic of Uganda linking the two countries and commended the on-going construction of the Mpondwe/Kasindi One Stop Border Post (OSBP) and Mpondwe Border Export Zone to facilitate trade, movement of people, goods and services between the two countries.
They directed that preparations for the construction of the Nebbi- Goli- Mahagi-Bunia road (190 kilometers), Bunia- Bogoro- Kasenyi road (55 Kilometers) and Rwebisengo-Budiba-Buguma-Njiyapanda road including the Budiba Bridge across River Semuliki (49 Kilometers) be undertaken as soon as possible.
The two Heads of State exchanged views on the security situation in the region especially in the Eastern DRC and stressed the need to maintain peace, security and stability in the region. In this regard, they reaffirmed their willingness to combine their efforts to neutralize negative armed groups destabilizing the region.
His Excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni expressed gratitude to His Excellency, Felix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo and his accompanying delegation for honouring the invitation to the Ground - Breaking Ceremony for the commencement of the construction works.
His Excellency, Felix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo extended an invitation to His Excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda to visit the Democratic Republic of Congo. The invitation was gladly accepted and the dates will be agreed through diplomatic channels.
DONE at MPONDWE/KASINDI this 16th day of June 2021
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