President William Ruto on Thursday, May 16, revealed a mutual plan by Kenya and Uganda to extend the crude oil pipeline from Eldoret in Uasin Gishu County to Kampala in Uganda to facilitate trade ties between the two nations.
During a joint media briefing at State House in Nairobi, President Ruto explained that the new pipeline would supply the neighbouring country with its fuel needs and essentially resolve the protracted oil importation dispute.
Kenya supplies over 90 per cent of Uganda's fuel while an average of ten per cent is sourced through Tanzania.
Ruto lauded the joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) meeting held on Tuesday, May 14, that paved the way for Uganda President Yoweri Museveni's state visit to the country.
The two nations also signed an agreement paving the way for the Uganda National Oil Company to import petroleum products through the port of Mombasa.
"Kenya and Uganda are firmly united by relations deeply rooted in shared history and culture and aspirations for regional peace and prosperity, " Ruto stated.
"The agreement on the importation and transit of refined petroleum products through Kenya to Uganda whose signing we've just witnessed enables Uganda National Oil Company Limited to import refined petroleum products directly from producers in different jurisdictions thus bringing to an end the challenges faced by Uganda," the president added.
During his briefing, Ruto also highlighted the extension of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) from Naivasha to Malaba, Kampala and DRC, praising it as a key infrastructural project to bridge the gap in terms of trade ties within the region.
The SGR project was initially set to terminate at Kampala but Rwanda, Burundi, DRC and South Sudan joined the fray in seeking the railway to extend to their countries and ease movement of goods along the Northern Corridor.
"We will continuously provide support to make sure the new agreement is functioning and mutually beneficial," Ruto noted.
"We have agreed that we will explore jointly the extension of the pipeline from Eldoret to Kampala that will form the conversation in the next JMC. We have also agreed to extend the SGR from Naivasha to Malaba and Kampala and DRC as an efficient infrastructural project."
