MOMBASA, Kenya, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Wednesday called on East African countries to buy products made from the region to minimize importation of goods that can be manufactured locally.
Museveni, who is on a two-day state visit to Kenya, said that countries are losing millions of dollars from importation of goods because of giant factories in East Africa which have since broken down.
He called on Kenya to fast-rack revival of Webuye Paper Mill which was critical in supplying paper products in East Africa.
Museveni said that his country imports paper worth 13 billion shillings (130 million U.S. dollars) from Finland, yet Kenya has a sleeping paper mill.
"It must be stopped. Why doesn't Uganda buy paper from Kenya?. We have to stop enriching others," he told a joint news conference with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta in the port city of Mombasa.
"When the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is finished, it will take 24 hours from here to Kampala... This should have been done before and there's no other way these countries' economies are going to grow if we don't solve this issue of movement," said Museveni.
He pointed out that the enhanced efficiency in handling of cargo at the port and in the movement of goods along the Northern Corridor has been of great benefit to the economies of both Kenya and Uganda, and for the other countries that depend on the Port of Mombasa for their import and export business, including Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He commended President Kenyatta for the rapid development of infrastructure in Kenya.
"While we are still waiting for the railway (in Uganda), the Kenyan government has already moved and is now constructing modern jetties and petroleum pipelines," Museveni said.
"That means that in the coming years, a lot of cargo will move from the roads to the railway and fuel will move from the roads to the pipeline and across the lake through tugboats which can carry the fuel across the lake cheaper, faster and safer,' he added.
On his part, Kenyatta commended the two delegations for ensuring that the inaugural session of the Joint Commission for Cooperation is a success.
"I am particularly pleased with the progress we have made in recent years in the areas of trade promotion, the free movement of goods, services and people across our borders, and the people-to-people interactions," Kenyatta said.
He noted the success of the One Stop Border Post at Busia and the ongoing improvement of infrastructure and processes at Malaba and Lwakhakha Border Points.
Kenyatta called for an increase in the number of one-stop-border-posts to promote the free movement of goods and people between the two countries.
He lauded the government and the people of Uganda for their trust and continued use of the Port of Mombasa.
"I wish to express my Government's full commitment to continue improving service delivery at the Port. I am pleased to report that the time taken to transport cargo between Mombasa and Nairobi has significantly reduced with the full operationalization of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) between Mombasa and Nairobi," Kenyatta said.
