Ugandan Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa, in an interview on Thursday, July 11, revealed details of her meeting with President William Ruto during her trip to Kenya.
In an interview with the Daily Monitor, Nankabirwa revealed that while in Kenya, she discussed the issue of Kenya and Uganda collaborating to import jet fuel.
She added that she did not discuss the matter of Uganda importing more fuel than what was declared to Kenyan authorities earlier this week.
According to reports, the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) through a private company imported 82,000 cubic metres of fuel which was more than 65,000 cubic metres declared leading to a mishap with the Kenya Revenue Authority at the port.
"I did not want to escalate the issue further than it had reached. I also realised that it will require involvement at the EAC level. That's when I took a back seat on that. We have more benefits to talk about or when we have gained from Kenya."
"So there is no conflict among us, and I wouldn't like a hype it story after story, that's why I didn't raise with President Ruto," she stated.
Additionally, she did not discuss the matter of the newly introduced bond fee affecting Ugadan imports passing through the port of Mombasa.
Kenya imposed a Ksh5 billion (USD40 million) bond fee on fuel imports. This fee was opposed by Ugandans including the Minister earlier in the week.
Ugandans argued that this would result in increased fuel prices would affect a majority of the citizens.
Meanwhile, in the interview with the Ugandan news outlet, Nankabirwa emphasised that she was in Kenya for different agendas emphasising on the thriving relations between Kenya and Uganda.
"We are going to harmonise with Kenya because jet fuel is so sensitive. It's all about security and safety which is very paramount," she added.
President Ruto and his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni had earlier agreed to extend the oil pipeline from Eldoret to Uganda.
Notably, the challenges faced by Uganda while importing fuel through Kenya forced the East African country to look for cheaper alternatives such as Tanzania to import petroleum products.
