Remarks · 30 July 2025
Your Excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda, Distinguished Guests,
It is an honour to welcome His Excellency President Yoweri Museveni and his delegation to Kenya for this official visit. This occasion reflects the strength of the historical partnership between our two nations, anchored in common ideals, deep respect, and a shared ambition for regional stability and progress.
Kenya and Uganda are joined together not only by geographical proximity, but also by a longstanding spirit of brotherhood and mutual support within the East African Community.
My deliberations with President Museveni spanned an extensive range of bilateral, regional, and continental priorities. We reaffirmed our united stance on closer collaboration in key sectors such as infrastructure, trade, energy, security, and regional integration.
Our cooperation in these areas aims to catalyse economic development, foster people-to-people ties, and ensure that our engagements translate into tangible benefits for both countries. We are united in our commitment to deepening bilateral cooperation and delivering shared prosperity for our citizens, while also working toward a stronger and more integrated region.
I am pleased to announce the signing of eight additional bilateral Memoranda of Understanding, building on the 17 agreements already in place. These new MoUs will further strengthen our legal and institutional cooperation across strategic sectors, and they include:
• MoU on Mining - to jointly promote responsible mineral exploitation, institutional capacity, and address crossborder smuggling. • MoU on Transport and Logistics - aimed at modernising transport systems and enhancing mobility for people and goods. • MoU on Standards and Quality Assurance - strengthening collaboration between the Kenya Bureau of Standards and Uganda National Bureau of Standards to improve product standards and ease trade. • MoU on Agriculture and Animal Industry - to enhance cooperation in veterinary and crop health, innovation, and food security. • MoU on Fisheries and Aquaculture – focusing on sustainable management and joint capacity building. • MoU on support of Sustainable Urban Development of the Greater Busia Metro Project (2025-2028), which seeks to facilitate the implementation of joint programmes on infrastructure and other development projects in Busia. • MoU on Tourism - to promote joint destination marketing, cultural exchange, and eco-tourism. • MoU on Investment Promotion - to improve the investment climate and foster private sector partnerships.
These agreements signify our joint resolve to turn our cooperation into practical results that will directly uplift the lives of both our peoples.
We also acknowledged the ongoing negotiations on other important instruments, notably a Cross-Border Resource Sharing Agreement, which we hope to finalise soon.
We reiterated the value of the Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) as a crucial vehicle for driving our bilateral agenda forward. Following the successful Second JMC session held in Kampala in May 2024, our technical teams have continued working closely to actualise the outcomes that were agreed upon.
Kenya is scheduled to host the Mid-Term Review of the Second JMC from 11th to 13th August 2025, here in Nairobi, at the Principal/Permanent Secretary level. This will be an important platform to evaluate the implementation progress and to set clear priorities for the next phase of engagement.
On trade, we reiterated concerns over persistent Non-Tariff Barriers that hinder the flow of goods and frustrate the objectives of regional integration under the EAC framework.
We emphasised the need for a principled, practical, and timebound resolution of these barriers given their direct impact on livelihoods, especially for farmers and small traders. The forthcoming JMC Mid-Term Review and the Joint Trade Committee meeting in October 2025 will be crucial to these efforts.
We also recommitted ourselves to strengthening regional institutions and furthering the objectives of the East African Community, including progress under the Customs Union, Common Market, Monetary Union and, ultimately, Political Federation.
The EAC continues to demonstrate its potential as a good model of effective regional integration. We emphasised the centrality of unity, economic convergence, and shared prosperity as guiding principles for deeper integration.
President Museveni and I also held constructive discussions on regional peace and stability. We reaffirmed our position that security is essential to sustainable development and commended ongoing regional peace-building initiatives.
We further agreed to collaborate closely in conflict resolution efforts, advocating inclusive approaches, supported by both regional and international frameworks.
In conclusion, I sincerely thank His Excellency President Museveni for honouring Kenya with his presence and for his strong and enduring leadership in East Africa. Kenya remains a dedicated partner and a true friend of the Republic of Uganda. I thank you. ###