Uganda President Yoweri Museveni has termed his first ever experience while riding on the SGR train from Mombasa to Nairobi on Thursday as 'comfortable'.
The veteran leader became the first ever visiting head of government to travel on Kenya's Standard Gauge Railway whose construction is still ongoing in a trip that lasted for four hours.
"Later, I took the train from Mombasa to Nairobi using the Standard Gauge Railway. It was a comfortable four-hour ride. The SGR is key in cutting down transport costs, reducing pilferage and ensuring goods arrive faster to the hinterland. It will greatly reduce business costs," said Museveni, whose two-day official trip in Kenya ends on Friday (today).
Throughout his stay, Museveni has lauded Nairobi's infrastructural development, insisting that Ugandan goods are expeditiously cleared and transported from the port of Mombasa. He also said that Kampala will extend the SGR once it reaches Malaba.
"I must thank the Kenyan government and President Uhuru in particular for ensuring that goods destined for Uganda are cleared in the shortest time possible at the Mombasa Port. It is something we had grappled with for a while but was fixed the moment President Uhuru came to office," he tweeted.
After his trip to Nairobi, President Uhuru Kenyatta, who had lined up at Nairobi terminus to usher in Museveni, said the move by his Ugandan counterpart was an indication of the blossoming relationship between the two nations.
"President Kenyatta said President @KagutaMuseveni showed the remarkable partnership that exists between Kenya and Uganda by being the first visiting Head of State to travel using Kenya's new modern railway line," State House wrote.
On Wednesday, President Uhuru Kenyatta had gifted the visiting Kampala leader a piece of land in Naivasha where Uganda is expected to build a dry port.