Addressing the press at State House, Mombasa, after the two leaders led their delegations in bilateral talks, President Kenyatta commended the two parties for ensuring that the inaugural session of the Joint Commission for Cooperation is a success.
“I am particularly pleased with the progress we’ve made in recent years in the areas of trade promotion, the free movement of goods, services and people across our borders, and the people-to-people interactions,” Kenyatta said.
President Kenyatta noted the success of the One Stop Border Post at Busia and the ongoing improvement of infrastructure and processes at Malaba and Lwakhakha Border Points.
He called for an increase in the number of one-stop-border-posts to promote the free movement of goods and people between the two countries.
Kenyatta commended the government and the people of Uganda for their trust and continued use of the Port of Mombasa.
The Kenyan leader invited his Ugandan counterpart to join in the joint development of the Standard Gauge Rail to ensure that the line continues all the way to Kampala as envisioned.
President Museveni commended Kenyatta for enhancing efficiency at the Port of Mombasa by modernising infrastructure and re-engineering system interventions that have increased the speed of cargo clearance.
“During his first term in office, President Kenyatta took the perennial problem of delays at the port head-on,” President Museveni said.
He pointed out that the enhanced efficiency in handling of cargo at the port and in the movement of goods along the Northern Corridor has been of great benefit to the economies of both Kenya and Uganda, and for the other countries that depend on the Port of Mombasa for their import and export business including Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He commended President Kenyatta for the rapid development of infrastructure in Kenya.
“While we are still waiting for the railway (in Uganda), the Kenyan government has already moved and is now constructing modern jetties and petroleum pipelines,” President Museveni said.
“That means that in the coming years, a lot of cargo will move from the roads to the railway and fuel will move from the roads to the pipeline and across the lake through tugboats which can carry the fuel across the lake cheaper, faster and safer,” he added.