Relationship dossier
Kenya
Uganda
Relationship assessment
Close regional cooperation on trade and infrastructure, with recurring commercial and fisheries frictions
Kenya toward Uganda
+40Kenya has worked with Uganda through East African Community frameworks on regional trade and transport, including access to the port of Mombasa and cross-border infrastructure. The two governments also agreed to pursue a crude-oil pipeline from Uganda toward Kenya, though the project was not built after Uganda selected an alternative export route. Trade and fisheries issues have been sources of friction.
Uganda toward Kenya
+40Uganda has cooperated with Kenya through East African Community trade and transport arrangements and has relied on Kenyan routes and infrastructure for regional commerce. Uganda joined Kenya in pursuing a proposed crude-oil pipeline toward Kenya before choosing a different route for its oil exports. Trade barriers and fisheries enforcement have periodically complicated relations.
Overall relationship
+40The enduring relationship is substantially cooperative, anchored in regional economic integration, cross-border commerce and transport connectivity. Practical cooperation has been accompanied by recurring trade disputes and disagreement over the route for Uganda's crude-oil exports, but these have not displaced the broader regional partnership.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Kenya and Uganda have a substantially cooperative relationship shaped by East African Community integration, cross-border trade and transport links. Their governments have pursued regional infrastructure and trade cooperation, while disputes over trade barriers and fisheries enforcement have periodically caused friction. A proposed Kenya-Uganda oil pipeline agreement did not lead to construction, and Uganda later chose a different route for its crude exports.
Areas of tension
- Trade barriers and restrictions affecting cross-border commerce
- Fisheries enforcement and treatment of fishers around Lake Victoria
- Uganda's decision to export crude oil through Tanzania rather than the proposed Kenya route
Key developments
Kenya and Uganda agreed to pursue a crude-oil pipeline from Uganda toward Kenya; Uganda later selected an alternative export route through Tanzania.
The two countries have cooperated through East African Community arrangements on regional trade and transport connectivity, including the use of Kenyan routes to reach the port of Mombasa.
Major uncertainties
- The extent and implementation of recent bilateral trade and infrastructure commitments are unclear.
- The frequency and current handling of cross-border fisheries and trade disputes are uncertain.