Rwandan Foreign Affairs minister, Dr Vincent Biruta and his Burundian counterpart, Albert Shingiro on Tuesday agreed on the roadmap to establish strained diplomatic relations, after almost five there has been an exchange of accusations with country accusing the other to be supportive of its opponents.
Relations between Central African neighbors Burundi and Rwanda, rarely warm, have been on the downswing since 2015 when the President Pierre Nkurunziza launched his bid for a third term.
A joint statement issued at the end of the meeting between the two delegations said that the representatives of the two parties noted the existence of historical relations between Rwanda and Burundi and the challenges they have faced since 2015.
The two authorities agreed on the need to maintain contacts in order to normalize relations between the two neighboring countries, the statement said.
It stressed that the meeting was part of the commitment by the two countries to assess the state of historical relations between Rwanda and Burundi as well as the challenges they have been facing since 2015.
During the meeting, The two top diplomats stressed the need to engage in regular contacts in order to normalize relations between the two neighboring countries which is characterised by shared historic background and geographical proximity
At the occasion, the Rwandan minister Dr Vincent Biruta handed over to his Burundian counterpart a written message from the Government of the Republic of Rwanda to the Government of the Republic of Burundi.
On his part the Burundian Foreign minister invited his Rwandan counterpart to pay a reciprocal visit to Burundi. The invitation was accepted on a date to be agreed between the parties through diplomatic channels, the statement said.
The meeting between the top diplomats of the two neighbouring Eastern African countries comes after another consultative meeting between their military intelligence chiefs last August to discuss their disputes and defuse tensions.
Participants at the previous meeting discussed the causes of cross-border incidents, as well as how to resolve the conflict and normalise relations between them.
The head of the Rwandan delegation, Brigadier-General Vincent Nyakarundi, who is the head of Defence Intelligence at the Rwanda Defence Force, said sharing intelligence was critical in addressing cross-border security.
Colonel Everest Musaba, Burundi’s chief of military intelligence was leader of the Burundian delegation.
CU/abj/APA