Rwanda and Uganda have long harbored mutual suspicions and hostilities, partly stemming from historical ties between both countries’ politics and security KIGALI: Rwanda on Monday will reopen a border crossing with Uganda that was shuttered nearly three years ago, even as tensions rise between the central African neighbors, fueled by accusations of espionage and support for each other’s dissidents. Rwanda had repeatedly accused Uganda of supporting rebel groups planning to topple the government in Kigali while Kampala accused Rwanda of carrying out illegal espionage activities in Uganda. In a statement on Twitter on Friday, Rwanda’s Foreign Ministry said the country would reopen the common border on Jan. 31. “Rwanda has taken note that there is a process to solve issues raised by Rwanda, as well as commitments made by the government of Uganda to address remaining obstacles,” it said in the statement. Various attempts, including mediation efforts by Angola, to restore normal relations and open the border had yielded little. The border closure in March 2019 had severely disrupted the trade links in the region. For its external trade, Rwanda primarily relies on a transport corridor that runs from the Indian ocean port of Mombasa through Kenya and Uganda. The same road also funnels goods through Rwanda to Burundi and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. FASTFACT The move to reopen the border followed a meeting in Kigali last week between Rwanda’s leader Paul Kagame and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba. Rwanda and Uganda have long harbored mutual suspicions and hostilities, partly stemming from historical ties between both countries’ politics and security. Paul Kagame, Rwanda’s current leader, grew up in Uganda and participated in the a guerrilla struggle that brought Uganda’s Pesident Yoweri Museveni, 77, to power. The move to reopen the border followed a meeting in Kigali last week between Kagame and Museveni’s son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba who is also a general in the military and who the public widely believes is being prepared to take over from his long-serving father. A resumption of normal trade at the two countries’ border crossing is potentially a much needed impetus for jump-starting regional economies battered by effects of COVID-19 containment measures. Rwanda and Uganda are members of regional trade bloc East African Community alongside Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi and South Sudan.