This archive report was first published on 9 November 2019.
On November 8, 2019, President Paul Kagame expressed frustration with Uganda's handling of bilateral relations, citing a failure to organize a second meeting to resolve issues that have frozen movement of people and goods across their borders.
The border has been closed since late February, with Rwanda restricting the entry of Ugandan goods and its citizens from crossing into Uganda.
According to President Kagame, the tension between their countries is due to Uganda's support for Rwandan rebels and the detention without trial of Rwandans in Uganda.
"One reason for their arrest is that they were in Uganda illegally, or that they were spies. Some were arrested because they refused to join these (rebel) groups. So those recruiting them (in Uganda) said, 'OK, you refused to join because you are an agent of Rwanda government'," he said.
President Kagame noted that a meeting in Kigali had been successfully organized in August, but a follow-up meeting in Kampala, as agreed, did not take place.
