KAMPALA — Teta Gisa Rwigyema is leading Rwanda’s delegation to the 12th Uganda–Rwanda Joint Permanent Commission (JPC) in Kampala, underscoring renewed diplomatic engagement between the two neighbouring countries.
The Senior Officials’ Meeting of the JPC opened at Mestil Hotel, with Uganda’s delegation led by Richard T. Kabonero, Head of Regional Economic Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He welcomed the Rwandan delegation and highlighted the significance of continued collaboration. He also emphasised the need to address emerging cross-border challenges jointly.
“We must continuously confront challenges and opportunities that emerge and explore new areas of cooperation,” he said, citing pandemics, climate change, human trafficking, and cybercrime as shared concerns.
Leading Rwanda’s team, Rwigyema—who serves as Director General for Africa at Rwanda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation—outlined the strategic importance of the meeting.
“This JPC is the framework of the strong political will and high expectations of our respective leaderships to further strengthen political and economic cooperation between our two countries,” she said.
She added that the session would review progress since the 11th JPC held in Kigali in 2023 and chart new areas of collaboration. “We will review progress across key sectors including trade and customs, defence and security, immigration, infrastructure, energy, aviation, and ICT,” Rwigyema noted.
She also stressed the need for tangible outcomes that benefit citizens in both countries. “This session should serve as a platform to generate tangible and implementable outcomes that respond to the aspirations of our citizens,” she said. “Our cooperation must translate into improved livelihoods, enhanced regional integration, and sustained socio-economic transformation.”
The JPC discussions are expected to cover trade facilitation, investment, agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, and transboundary infrastructure, in line with East African Community integration goals and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
Rwigyema’s leadership at the talks reflects her growing role in Rwanda’s diplomacy. Appointed Director General for Africa in 2024, she previously served as Director of African Union Unity and has worked with multilateral organisations, including the United Nations Population Fund.
Teta, one of two siblings, is the daughter of Jeannette Rwigyema and the late Maj Gen Fred Gisa Rwigyema, a founding figure of the Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA). Her diplomatic role, therefore, carries a pivotal historical legacy.
Commander Fred Rwigyema, highly regarded and revered in both Uganda and Rwanda, was a freedom fighter in the five-year revolutionary struggle of the National Resistance Army (NRA), led by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, which liberated Uganda in 1986.
A close friend of Commander Salim Saleh, Rwigyema commanded elite units such as the Mondlane Unit and participated in Katonga Bridge battles before heading west to take charge of the western axis from Fort Portal. When the freedom struggle ended, Commander Rwigyema served as Deputy Army Commander and Minister of State for Defence of Uganda.
He lost his life in 1990 during the struggle to liberate Rwanda. He had earlier served as Minister of State for Defence and Deputy Army Commander of Uganda.
May Afande Fred Rwigyema’s soul continue to rest in peace, and may his family be blessed.
Officials from both countries say the ongoing JPC signals a strong political will to deepen bilateral ties and expand cooperation into new sectors, reinforcing what they describe as “fraternal relations” between Uganda and Rwanda.