The Central Equatoria State government and the districts in Uganda’s West Nile Region which borders South Sudan over the weekend signed an agreement to bolster trade and peace between the two countries.
The deal was inked by Governor Emmanuel Adil Anthony who was on a working visit to Uganda’s Yumbe District and Hudu Hussein, the Resident District Commissioner of Yumbe District, who signed on behalf of the West Nile Region districts of Moyo, Adjumani, Koboko, and Yumbe.
According to a communique dated 21 October, the agreement aims at bolstering trade, deepening efforts to realize and strengthen the East African Community (EAC), and promoting peace, security, and stability through the structural prevention of conflicts in the region.
Governor Adil said the meeting was to build trust and deny chances to those who would want to exploit the relationship negatively.
“This meeting in Yumbe today (Thursday) is to strengthen the commitment to continue engaging our communities and the sub-national government in building trust and deny chances to those who would want to exploit the relationship negatively to propel their selfish interests at the expense of the good cohesive relations,” he said.
“The government of Central Equatoria expects that the meeting will review the success made during the past 10 months, challenges, and options for improvements,” Adil added.
He thanked the Ugandan officials for the progress made especially in enhancing the freedom of movement of people and combating border crime and rebel activities.
Meanwhile, Hudu Hussein, the Resident District Commissioner of Yumbe District appreciated the government of South Sudan for being cooperative as demonstrated by the regular cross-border security meetings.
“I want to thank the president of South Sudan and you the governor of the Central Equatoria State for being mindful of the African code of peace and co-existence as demonstrated by this cross-border security meeting,” he said. “Both our national leaders have worked tirelessly in ensuring that we have a safe border necessary for the economic and social development of both our people. We have adopted policy and set goals aimed at ensuring that we fight the rebel activities that have lived on since the birth of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in northern Uganda.”
“The bond between South Sudan and Uganda has become stronger in the same way as the bond between couples that have undergone serious difficulties but together gets stronger with each victory,” Hussein added.
This is the second time Governor Adil is visiting the border districts in Uganda’s West Nile Region to discuss bilateral issues. Last year’s meeting was hosted in Adjumani District.