Tanzania president Samia Suluhu visited Uganda for the first time since ascending to the presidency
Photos of the visiting president were posted on Twitter by the host Kaguta Museveni. The Tanzanian president attended a bilateral trade deal that will see the partnership in the construction of a pipeline to transport crude oil between the two countries.
The deal will start the construction of a pipeline from Uganda to tanga. The minister for foreign affairs in Uganda reported that the deal will be completed once the Tanzanian president visited Uganda.
Kaguta Museveni the longest-serving democratically elected president in the country said that the deal would mark the two countries’ third victory.
The Tanzanian President had her first foot off of Tanzania’s soil since she was sworn in after the passing on of Pombe Magufuli.
In a bid to repair the broken links with Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta sent a delegation with an official invite for the Tanzanian president to visit Kenya. The delegation was led by Amina Mohammed who handed the official invite to Tanzania’s president.
I thank Her Excellency Samia Hassan for indulging my sentimental request of conducting this signing ceremony on the 11th of April, 2021. 42 years ago, this same day, is when the Tanzanian troops captured Kampala and enabled, Oyite Ojok, to announce the fall of Idi Amin. pic.twitter.com/aMx5Zwbiis
— Yoweri K Museveni (@KagutaMuseveni) April 11, 2021
To commemorate the date President Museveni said “42 years ago, this same day is when the Tanzanian troops of the 20th Division under General David Msuguri, captured Kampala and enabled a Ugandan army officer David Oyite Ojok to announce the fall of Idi Amin on Radio Uganda,”
The president added” At that very moment with my rapidly growing Fronasa troops operating with another TPDF task force division under Major General Cyrus Mayunga, I was on the Mbarara front. Today, therefore, is a triple victory for Tanzania and Uganda…. Three times win.”
Yoweri Museveni said that the third win was an economical one which will see the two countries reap maximum gains from the pipeline project. The first two wins were military wins when Tanzania helped Kampala to get rid of the dictator Idd Amin dada.
Kaguta acknowledged the first Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere “On these two occasions Mwalimu Nyerere played a very important role, In 1978-79, TPDF played a major role in removing Idi Amin from power. In 1985-86, Mwalimu Nyerere gave us 5000 riffles at the right time just before the assault on Kampala starting on the 17th of January 1986,”
He dismissed the Kenyan role in Ugandan relations as just brotherly but acknowledged how indebted he felt for Tanzania.
President Museveni said, “I am, therefore, most satisfied that the project will make a modest contribution to the development of Tanzania. It cannot compensate for the huge sacrifice that Tanzania made for the defeat of Idi Amin, and the liberation of the whole of Southern Africa (Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, and South Africa. It is just a modest contribution. Moreover, this pipeline project might be the core of bigger developments if brothers in Congo and South Sudan choose to use it for their oil, at the maximum it can carry 230,000 barrels per day. “
Uganda’s president also added that the pipeline would be modified to hold a return gas pipeline to transport gas to Uganda from Tanzania and Mozambique. The gas will be used in the vast iron ore mines in Uganda.
This comes amid high gas prices in Kenya the neighboring nation and part of the East African country that has seen the price of petrol cost increase in value twice fold due to excessive taxation to cover the excessive government borrowing and the abandoned Kenya Petroleum Refineries Limited.
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