Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Felix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo on Wednesday slammed ‘some’ EAC leaders that have chosen vendetta instead of building friendship with thier counterparts .
Tshisekedi made the comment while meeting President Yoweri Museveni in Kasese District at Mpondwe bridge as the two principals launched construction of road infrastructure linking Uganda and DRC.
The development comes after closure of Rwanda border by President Paul Kagame, barring Ugandan goods from entering into his country.
Responding to Kagame’s border closure, Museveni has since liaised with friendly East African Community (EAC) leaders and agreed to construct roads to bypass Rwanda to boost trade in the region.
In his speech, DRC President said that “I thank my elder brother Museveni for the warm welcome and for many important discussions we have had. As brothers instead of looking to building walls it is better to build bridges.”
Commission Uganda- DRC road infrastructure
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.
