Kigali, 15 May 2020 -- A bilateral meeting between delegations of the Republic of Rwanda and the United Republic of Tanzania was held today via video conference, with the aim to facilitate movement of goods between the two countries in light of challenges experienced at the Rusumo border, where the flow of goods and services had been halted.

The United Republic of Tanzania and the Republic of Rwanda agreed to remove the proposed swapping of drivers at Rusumo border with immediate effect. Goods entering Rwanda will be offloaded or transshipped at entry point, except for trucks carrying perishable goods and petroleum products destined to Rwanda, which will be allowed to operate from 06:00hrs to 18:00hrs (local time) and will be escorted at no cost to their final destinations. It was also agreed that drivers can spend the night at designated accommodation facilities at the importers’ cost.

The meeting also agreed that, in order to curtail the spread of Covid-19 across borders testing of truck drivers will be mandatory and facilitated by the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania at starting point.  In addition, given the length of the route from Rusumo to Dar es Salaam and vice versa, testing will be done at every overnight regional designated stopping centre.

The Government of Rwanda will make available mandatory testing facilities for all drivers in transit and those transporting fuel and perishable products.

Both delegations agreed to communicate before implementing new health and cargo handling guidelines in the fight against COVID-19 which may affect cross-border trade.

END

Download the Press Release here