STATEMENT BY
HON. SAM K. KUTEESA, MINISTER OF
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
AT THE OPENING OF THE UGANDA – ETHIOPIA JOINT
PERMANENT COMISSION MEETING: 22ND JULY 2011;
MUNYONYO COMMONWEALTH RESORT
Your Excellency Hailemariam Desalegn, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia,
Hon. Ministers,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
On behalf of the Government and the people of Uganda, I warmly welcome the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, and his delegation to Kampala, and to this meeting in particular. You are most welcome, and I invite you to explore and enjoy all the good things Kampala and Uganda have to offer.
It gives me great pleasure to open this landmark meeting of the Joint Permanent Commission between Uganda and Ethiopia, which is convening for the very first time. The meeting is testimony to renewed impetus between our Governments to prepare the ground for strengthening the cordial bilateral relations existing between our countries. I have no doubt that the fruits of this meeting will bring our peoples and Governments closer.
Your Excellency,
Uganda and Ethiopia enjoy excellent bilateral relations. However, today’s meeting opens a new chapter, and indeed marks a historic moment in our relations from now on. It will be recalled that on 4th November 1993, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and Prime Minister Meles Zenawi signed an agreement of Friendship and Cooperation in Kampala, which mandated the formation of a Ministerial Commission to foster economic and political relations.
Since then, efforts have been made to move the vision and spirit of this agreement forward. Such efforts included the signing of a Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) in April 2005, as well as a general agreement of Coorporation in 2008, between the Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce, to promote trade between the two countries. A series of other bilateral activities, such as meetings, study tours and high level state visits have also been undertaken.
At this meeting, we are going to concretize the vision of President Yoweri Museveni and Prime Minister Meles Zenawi by signing the agreement establishing a Joint Ministerial Commission between Uganda and Ethiopia. We will also sign a declaration on strategic partnership between Uganda and Ethiopia.
These two documents will pave way for enhanced cooperation in various sectors, such as health, education, agriculture, Defence and security, gender issues, infrastructure, water and energy. I wish to assure you of Uganda’s resolve and commitment to making progress in the areas of our strategic partnership.
Your Excellency,
Uganda is committed to the regional initiatives of COMESA and IGAD to which both countries are members. This commitment is informed by the knowledge and belief that in order to achieve fester economic, political and social transformation, there is an imperative to cooperate very closely as a region.
Within the IGAD framework, Uganda and Ethiopia have worked very closely, and worked well on matters of regional peace and security, especially with regard to Somalia and Sudan. The peace dividends to accrue from the stabilization of these countries will benefit our countries individually, as well as the entire IGAD region.
We firmly believe that with IGAD’s Minimum integration plan, which entails development of infrastructure in the region, resources will be optimally utilized and shared basing on comparative advantage.
Our cooperation on issues of the Nile is strong, and can only get stronger. We also need to benefit from working together in dealing with destabilizing activities in the region, as well as on issues of peace, security, terrorism, human and drug trafficking and money laundering.
With these remarks, I now have the honor to declare this meeting open.
I thank you.
