Ministers in charge of ICT of both Rwanda and Uganda yesterday met and agreed to jointly carry out initiatives like, cross-border connectivity and the National Identification Project.

ICT Minister Ignace Gatare and his Ugandan counterpart, Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, were meeting in Kampala as a follow up of an agreement signed in July this year during President Yoweri Museveni’s visit to Rwanda.

The ministers identified cross-border connectivity as a crucial area of interest, and noted that telecommunication operators already have cross-border fibre links, but that the quality of service of the links remains inadequate.

"In the short term, a task force shall be established to monitor availability of current links that are provided by the private operators between Kampala and Katuna, as a measure of improving the reliability of this route,” the ministers said in a joint communiqué.

The two countries agreed to share information and experiences on establishing a conducive legal framework to promote ICT with emphasis on broadband policies, cyber laws and fighting child pornography.  

Rugunda commended the progress Rwanda has registered in the ICT sector, saying it has advanced in training, infrastructure and implementation of strategies and called on other East African countries to borrow a leaf.

"Rwanda is performing very well in the sector of ICT. It is taking a leadership role and we salute that progress and would like the region to take ICT as seriously as Rwanda is doing,” he said.

On the National Identification Project, the Ministers said that Rwanda has successfully implemented the project, and there will be sharing of information and expertise to enable the success of a similar project Uganda is implementing.

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