The governments of Kenya and Uganda have agreed to engage in dialogue on trade issues. The war mainly affecting agricultural products between the two countries was avoided because the two countries decided to remove all obstacles to cross-border trade.

The decision was taken at a bilateral meeting in Nairobi. The Ugandan ministerial delegation led by Frank Tumwebaze, Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, also included Major General David Kasura-Kyomukama and Dr Anna Rose Ademun Okurut, Commissioner for Animal Health at the Ministry Ugandan Agriculture, while the contingent was made up of Peter Munya, Cabinet Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperatives, accompanied by Ms. Betty Maina, Cabinet Secretary of the Ministry of Industrialization, Trade and Business Development.

Administrative measures

It was agreed to immediately remove all administrative measures which have so far hampered trade in poultry and poultry products during the meeting. The two delegations also agreed to establish a team of key stakeholders, including the country’s fiscal and fisheries authorities, to develop a transit mechanism for fish from Lake Turkana in Kenya to the Democratic Republic of the Congo via Uganda.

The two countries have also agreed to work jointly to address the challenges of harvesting immature fish in Lake Victoria. Due to the persistence of national levies by the two countries which violate the protocol of customs union of the EAC, the ministers have committed to eliminate all the levies immediately and in any case no later than July 1, 2022.

It was also agreed that the two countries will continue to cooperate on issues related to sugar trade, including streamlining the issuance of import permits. At the same time, following international acclaim for Ugandan milk and dairy products, it was agreed that Kenya would undertake a Ugandan dairy sector verification exercise during the last week of January 2022 in order to lift the embargo on Ugandan milk and dairy products.