Uganda, Sudan sign cooperation agreement in agriculture

KAMPALA, April 17, 2004 (Xinhua) — Uganda and the Sudan have signed a framework cooperation agreement in agriculture, fisheries, animal resources and voluntary repatriation of Sudanese refugees, according to local newspaper Sunday Monitor which was published on Saturday.

The agreement and two other accords were signed here Friday at the end of the two-day meeting of the Uganda-Sudan Joint Ministerial Commission.

Ugandan Deputy Prime Minister Henry Kajura hailed the agreement as a step toward “renewal and reinvigoration” of the bilateral relations.

But the two sides did not arrived at agreement on the issues of security, immigration and trade, according to the newspaper.

Ugandan Acting Foreign Minister Tom Butime said that the meeting attempted to reach an agreement on the security matter but failed.

Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Ismaiel repeated his country’ s commitment to ending the war by the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army against the Ugandan government.

The two countries also agreed to establish a consulate in each other’s territory, namely in Juba of the Sudan and Gulu of Uganda.

Uganda and the Sudan once accused each other of backing the anti-government forces and as a result Uganda severed its diplomatic relations with the Sudan in 1995. In 2001, the two neighboring countries restored diplomatic relations.