President John Magufuli has assured his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni of full cooperation in accomplishing the construction of crude oil export pipeline from Hoima District in Uganda to the Indian Ocean port of Tanga.
According to a press statement issued by the Directorate of Presidential Communications, Dr Magufuli made the assurance in Kampala during his talks with the Ugandan leader.
He arrived in Uganda to attend President Museveni’s inauguration slated for Thursday. At the Entebbe International Airport, he was received by Ugandan Works and Transport Minister John Byabagambi and Uganda’s High Commissioner to Tanzania, Ms Dorothy Samali Hyuha.
Uganda’s Assistant Inspector-General of Police Andrew Felix Kawesi was also present at the airport to receive the Tanzanian leader. Dr Magufuli is popular in Uganda for the radical changes he has embraced in Tanzania, including spearheading the fight against corruption, since he took over office late last year.
He joins two other dignitaries, King Letsie III of Lesotho and the Prime Minister of Swaziland, Dr Barnabas Dlamini, who arrived in Uganda on Tuesday evening. He then headed to State House Entebbe for an official welcoming ceremony.
This is the second time for Dr Magufuli to travel outside the country since becoming president. He first travelled to Rwanda last month. President Museveni recently endorsed his country’s decision to construct the pipeline through Tanzania during the 13th Northern Corridor Integration Projects (NCIP) Summit in Kampala, which was also attended by President Paul Kagame and Uhuru Kenyatta of Rwanda and Kenya, respectively.
The envisaged pipeline through Tanzania will be of benefit not only to Uganda and Tanzania but other countries in the region such as Kenya, South Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Officials from Uganda and Tanzania convened for the first time in Tanzania last month to discuss work plan for the development of the proposed 8.7 trillion/-crude oil export pipeline.
Source: All Africa

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