Uganda president in Rwanda for talks

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni travelled to Rwanda this weekend amid rumours of tensions between the two neighbours over Uganda's alleged support for Rwandan dissidents. Museveni, who arrived in Kigali Friday and is expected to stay four days, met with his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame upon arrival, Rwandan officials said. Both sides have denied rumours of strained relations. "When people visit each other, it is not a sign that they are trying to solve some problems," Ugandan Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa said Saturday. "It is instead a sign that they are friends. People don’t normally visit each other when they are enemies." According to press reports in both countries, Rwanda suspects Kampala has offered support to former Kagame allies who are currently working against the Kigali regime while in exile. "Uganda and Rwanda enjoy strong and historical ties," Rwandan Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said in a statement. "We are constantly looking for ways the people of our two countries can continually benefit from that relationship," she added, explaining the reason for the visit. Kagame began his military career in Uganda in the early 1980s as an intelligence officer in Museveni's then-rebel army. After Museveni took power in 1986, Kagame became Museveni's deputy military intelligence chief, before returning to Rwanda to lead his own rebel army in the early 1990s.