A bilateral meeting between delegations of the Republic of Rwanda and the United Republic of Tanzania was held via video conference with the aim to facilitate the movement of goods between the two countries in light of challenges experienced at the Rusumo border.
The two countries agreed to remove the proposed swapping of drivers at the 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 for Rwanda, which will be allowed to operate from 06:00hrs -18:00hrs (local time) and will be escorted at no cost to their final destinations. It was also agreed that drivers can also spend the night at designated accommodation facilities at the importer’s 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 Tanzania at the starting point. In addition due to the long distance between Rusumo and Dar es Salaam and vise versa, testing will be done at every overnight regional designated stopping centre. The government of Rwanda will avail mandatory testing faculties for all transit drivers as well as those transporting fuel and perishable goods.