Cablegate: Rwanda-Uganda Joint Permanent Commission Meeting A

VZCZCXYZ0023
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLGB #0990 2891437
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 161437Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY KIGALI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3353
INFO RUEHJB/AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA 1565
RUEHDR/AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM 0763
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 1467
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA 0131
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 0631
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0151

UNCLAS KIGALI 000990

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL ETRD RW
SUBJECT: RWANDA-UGANDA JOINT PERMANENT COMMISSION MEETING A
SUCCESS

1. (U) Summary. Ugandan and Rwandan officials held the
seventh Joint Permanent Commission sessions in Kigali October
12-13. A communique pledged cooperation on a hosts of
issues, including consular relations, defense, education and
justice issues, crop and animal diseases, cross-border
transport fees, and border immunization efforts. The two
sides also signed separate MOUs on police cooperation,
wildlife management and metrology. Various senior Rwandan
officials publicly lauded the sessions and expressed the wish
that Rwandan-Ugandan relations continue to improve. Ghana
pledged to support Rwanda's East African Community (EAC)
candidacy. End summary.

2. (U) Over the course of two days, the Permanent Joint
Commission attendees (including senior ministers from both
sides) examined a host of bilateral issues, from defense and
justice to education, gender and refugee matters, including
the sensitive issue of alleged detention of nationals by the
neighboring nation's security forces. In that regard, the
two sides reaffirmed the principle of consular access to
their respective nationals should they be detained. The
governments also signed separate agreements governing
cross-border police cooperation, wildlife management, and
metrology (the science of standards and measurements). In
his opening statement, Ugandan Foreign Minister Kutesa
pledged support for Rwanda's EAC application.

3. (SBU) The two-day sessions included a courtesy call
October 13 on President Kagame by Ugandan Foreign Minister
Sam Kutesa and others in the GOU delegation. The jovial
public face to this courtesy call matched the boisterous
atmosphere of the Uganda National Day reception at the
Ugandan Embassy the evening of October 12 (Note: Uganda
National Day is October 9; the Ugandan Embassy delayed the
celebration to accommodate the arrival of the GOU delegation
from Kampala for the Commission sessions). At the National
Day reception, Foreign Minister Kutesa teasingly (and perhaps
inadvertently) referred to President Kagame as "President of
Uganda," a mark of distinction returned in kind by Rwandan
Foreign Minister Charles Murigande, who called President
Museveni "President of....," hesitating to complete the
official designation, to great laughter from the crowd.

4. (SBU) This seventh session of the Permanent Joint
Commission comes on the heels of President Kagame's journey
to Uganda to attend the September 30 golden jubilee
celebrations at the Ntare School in the Mbare district of
Uganda, a school attended by both Kagame and Museveni. With
President Museveni in attendance, President Kagame praised
the important role the school in particular and Ugandan
society in general played in nurturing a generation of
Rwandan refugees, including himself, and called for closer
ties with Uganda.

5. (SBU) Comment. While presidential and foreign ministry
officials have told us that the holding of the Joint
Commission sessions two weeks after Kagame's trip to the
Ntare School was pure coincidence, the timing has been
fortuitous. It appears a bit of a charm offensive is
underway by the GOR, as Rwanda strives for a positive vote on
its request to join the East African Community, and for a
general relaxation of regional tensions, particularly with
the DRC and Uganda. End Comment.
THURSTON

© Scoop Media