The Government of Kenya on Thursday, December 16, responded after Uganda placed an embargo on some goods being imported from Nairobi.
Speaking to journalists, Trade and Industrialisation Cabinet Secretary, Betty Maina, stated that the government had not received formal communication from Uganda about the ban.
Maina, however, noted that the government would reach out to the Ugandan authorities in a bid to end the trade wrangles.
“We are awaiting a formal communication from Uganda on that decision and we will respond because there is no intention to destabilise the bilateral trade relationship,” she stated.
In addition, she noted there was no cause for alarm, adding that the matter was being handled by the relevant authorities.
Maina was speaking at the Associated Vehicle Assemblers plant in Miritini, Mombasa County.
The CS's response came a day after Uganda President Yoweri Museveni's administration placed a ban on some of the agricultural products coming from Kenya following a meeting that was held on Monday, December 13.
Rebecca Kadaga, who concurrently serves as Uganda's Minister for East African Affairs, stated that the Cabinet is in the process of identifying and making the list of all products that will not be allowed in Uganda.
“We have been too patient. In the past, we have not reciprocated, but now we are going to. This has gone on for too long and within a short time they too will understand what we are going through,” Kadaga warned.
The current hostilities between the two East African Community partners started brewing in December 2019, when Kenya stopped importing Ugandan milk products.
The milk brand had gained market popularity in the country with traders decrying huge losses due to the directive.
In July 2020, Ugandan sugar was outlawed from Kenya's market going against an agreement that had earlier been struck by the two nations.
