Dar es Salaam, 25 March 2022 (TDI): The Tanzanian Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Liberata Mulamula; participated virtually in the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR).
VIRTUAL MEETING
The Ministers of the other member countries were also present in the meeting, as shared via Twitter. The African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security, Bankole Adeoye, also attended the meeting.
The Ministry shared via Twitter, that the Conference was on March 24, in virtual format. According to the Ministry, the Foreign Minister of Angola, Tete Antonio presided over the conference.
Furthermore, on the same day, Tanzanian Minister, Liberata Mulamula met the outgoing Ambassador of Uganda to Tanzania, Richard Kabonero, in Dar es Salaam.
The reason for the meeting was to congratulate the Ambassador; and to bid farewell to Kabonero, as the Ambassador ended his mission in Tanzania and is set to return to Uganda.
During the meeting, Mulamula and Kabonero discussed the achievements to strengthen their bilateral relations. Moreover, both held the meeting at the sub-office of the Foreign Minister in Dar es Salaam.
ABOUT ICGLR
The International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) is an inter-governmental organization of the countries in the African Great Lakes Region. The reason for its establishment was that they recognized that political instability and conflicts in these countries have a considerable regional dimension, and for that, they needed a concerted effort.
According to the ICGLR, that effort was to promote sustainable peace and development. The organization has twelve member countries; the first six are Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, and also Kenya.
Furthermore, the other members are Uganda, Rwanda, the Republic of South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Zambia. The countries established the ICGLR in 2000 when the UNSC resolutions (1291 and 1304) called for an International Conference on peace, security, democracy, and development in the Great Lakes region.
The United Nations and the African Union helped the members to establish the Secretariat of the International Conference; in Nairobi, Kenya. Among the most important documents of the Conference, there is the Declaration on Peace, Security, and Development in the Great Lakes region in 2004.
They later signed in 2006, the Pact on Security, Stability, and Development in the Great Lakes Region. A year later, the Secretariat inaugurated its headquarters in Bujumbura, Burundi.
Furthermore, the Secretariat was responsible for coordinating, facilitating, monitoring, and ensuring the implementation of the Pact; to attain peace, security, political stability, and development.
TANZANIA-UGANDA DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS
Tanzania has an Embassy in Kampala. On the other side, Uganda also has an embassy in Dar es Salaam. Currently, Tanzania is a strategic partner for Uganda in several areas like trade, security, education, energy, and agriculture.
They established diplomatic relations shortly after their independence from the British Empire in 1960. Both had a common project named Uganda–Tanzania Crude Oil Pipeline (UTCOP)/East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).
The relations between them were strained during the War in 1978 but improved after it ended. Now their relations are strong and in 2013, Tanzania exported $62.2 million worth of goods to Uganda, mainly machinery, agriculture products, and medicines.
On the other side, Uganda exported $62.6 million worth of goods to Tanzania, mainly corn and telecommunication equipment.
