President Yoweri Museveni and his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, signed a memorandum of understanding on regional cooperation and security.

The pact was signed on Wednesday in Luanda, Angola during the second Quadripartite Summit, which was convened to find a lasting solution to differences between Uganda and Rwanda.

The summit was chaired by the President of Angola, Joao Lourenco.

President Lourenço invited his Congolese counterpart Denis Sassou Nguesso to attend the summit, with Nguesso expected to play a role in discussions on efforts to eradicate Congolese and foreign armed groups operating in northern DR Congo.

At the last meeting in July, Rwanda and Uganda reached understanding to resolve tensions that have been brewing since 2017.

The country’s respective leaders, who were once allies, have exchanged public accusations of spying and of interfering in each other’s politics.

Rwanda closed its Uganda border point at Gatuna in February as part of an ongoing trade dispute. Apart from a brief interlude in June the frontier has mainly remained shut. The economies of both countries have suffered as a result.

And in May, Ugandan police accused Rwandan soldiers of entering the country and killing two men. Rwanda denies the charge.

Wednesday’s MoU signing is seen as a first step towards ending the feud between Kagame and Museveni. 

“I want to thank President Luorenço and President Tshisekedi for the work and wise counsel they put into this process of bringing us together, President Museveni of Uganda and myself, to solve any problems that have been existing between our countries.” Kagame said at the end of the meeting.