Tanzania and Rwanda are moving to open a new border post as th two countries deepen trade ties at a time when trade and political forces pull region partners in different directions.

The new post will be opened in Kyerwa district in the Kagera Region to provide a second passage for people and goods and reduce pressure on the Rusumo border post.

Tanzania Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, January Makamba, said this in Kigali during his recent four-day visit to Rwanda.

“We want to make it easy for the two countries to cross and visit each other,” he said, “We have talked about the possibility and readiness to have the new border front in Kyerwa, and we are ready to have it operational,”

The minister, who led a delegation that included senior officials from the Tanzanian Ministries of Transport, Trade and Industry, ICT, Agriculture, Energy, and other key parastatals, said Tanzania is committed to expanding business with Rwanda.

“We are committed to being reliable partners and keen to expand business with Rwanda. Tanzania is Rwanda’s second-largest trading partner, and the potential to be first exists,” he said.

He highlighted existing business projects in Rwanda and Tanzania and is involved in such as the Rwandan dairy factory located in Mwanza, which opened up the Tanzanian market to Rwandan milk.

“Rwanda uses Tanzania’s broadband infrastructure for a certain amount of capacity in its connectivity area, and we are keen to expand this,”.

Rwanda’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Jean Chrysostome Ngabitsinze, said a second border post would bring many economic prospects and trade benefits to Rwanda.