The President also recalled the close cooperation between Uganda and Tanzania, citing trade, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline, the Murongo-Kyikagate mini-hydro project, roads in Tanzania, the Masaka-Bukoba transmission line and the Standard Gauge Railway, which has reached Isaka and is expected to extend towards Uganda and beyond.
According to Mukula, Uganda believes in the free and orderly movement of people, goods, services, and capital within the framework of regional laws and protocols, stating that it will continue to stand for the dignity of African brothers and sisters because Africa belongs to Africans.
Akena referred to historical statements by President Museveni acknowledging the destruction of food supplies and the destitution of about 2.7 million people during that period. He argued that the loss of cattle deprived communities of daily nutrition, household income, school fees, draft power, and soil fertility, leaving effects that continue to be felt today.