Working on Joint Oil Pipeline, Kenya, Uganda Should Work Together to Confront Foreign Powers: Expert
18:34 23.05.2024 (Updated: 18:35 23.05.2024)
Subscribe
On May 16, Kenya and Uganda reached an agreement to collaborate on the extension of the oil pipeline from the Kenyan city of Eldoret to Uganda's city of Kampala. This deal will enable Kenya to directly import refined petroleum products through Nairobi.
While working on the joint oil pipeline from Kenya to Uganda, the two nations should keep their national interests in mind and "work together in confronting extra-continental forces," Macharia Munene, Professor of History and International Relations at the United States International University-Africa in Kenya, told Sputnik Africa.
"There are likely to be a lot of international players coming into the picture, and the two countries should have one front in dealing with those international players so that none of them is hurt while the internationals get the benefits," Munene said.
By working together, Kenya and Uganda are "trying to minimize extra costs," as "the region is excessively dependent on external energy supply," the professor of history and international relations at the United States International University-Africa in Kenya explained.
"Both countries are working very hard to see whether they can tap the availability of the known gas and petrol, which have not been properly exploited. [...] So if they collaborate on this, they will be shipping them the operational costs," he added.
