THE Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Eugene Munyakayanza, has called on countries in the region to strengthen cooperation as one of the measures towards poverty eradication in the region.

Munyakayanza made the call on Friday while closing a two-day workshop that attracted activists from the three countries sharing the Virunga area; Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

"We need to strengthen relationships in the region, work hard so that we help ourselves out of poverty,” Munyakayanza told participants.

The team had successfully approved the draft treaty which will institutionalize a fully-fledged Greater Virunga Trans-boundary Collaboration (GVTC)Secretariat, to legally establish a body that aims at conserving, managing environmental resources and promoting tourism in protected areas of the three countries.

The draft treaty will go through the line ministries of each country before it goes to the three Heads of State for approval.

Meanwhile, in an interview with Sunday Times, Rica Rwigamba, the head of Tourism and Conservation at RDB, who was among Rwanda`s representatives, said that upon approval, the treaty will help develop the tourism sector in the region.

"There will be a fully legal operational framework in charge of implementing various projects which makes accountability and the evaluation process very clear.”

According to the president of the GVTC, Apophia Atukunda Muhimbura from Uganda Wildlife Authority, the three countries have, since 2004, been operating on a Memorandum of Understanding and in 2005, ministries in charge of wildlife conservation signed a Ministerial Declaration in Goma which resulted in a trans-boundary strategic plan.

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