The Finance Ministers of the East African Partner States of Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda have met in Washington D.C. on the sidelines of the on-going IMF and World Bank 2026 Spring Meetings to discuss the progress of the standard gauge railway (SGR) project.
According to the statement by the Ministry of Finance, the meeting was attended by John Mbadi the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Economic Planning of Kenya, Yusuf Murangwa, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Rwanda and Henry Musasizi, the Minister of State for Finance in charge of General Duties, Uganda.
Also, present were Uganda’s Attorney General, Kiryowa Kiwanuka, Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury Dr. Ramathan Ggoobi, Permanent Secretary, National Treasury of Kenya Dr. Chris Kiptoo and the Head of Development Finance, Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Rwanda, Gerald Mugabe among other senior government officials of the three partner states.
According to the statement released on Finance Ministry’s X platform, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary, Mbadi said his country is committed and is leading in the completion and connection of the standard gauge railway (SGR) to the Malaba border with Uganda. He said there is need for closer cooperation among the partner states to ensure the viability of the project.
On behalf of Rwanda, Murangwa said his country is ready and committed to pick up the SGR from the border with Uganda, adding that the SGR project is an opportunity to connect the region and Africa, to reap the benefits of interconnectivity in terms of trade and investment.
He applauded Kenya and Uganda for taking lead, adding that Rwanda has an idea of what to expect when time comes to implement the SGR project. On behalf of Uganda,
Musasizi expressed the commitment for Uganda to the SGR project, adding that project implementation has started to connect from Malaba to Kampala. “The viability of this SGR depends on all of us committing to do the project,” said Musasizi, adding that Uganda is also committed to extending the SGR to the borders of Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury, Uganda Dr. Ramathan Ggoobi said Uganda has already contracted the construction of the 270km SGR line from Malaba to Kampala, adding that Uganda has also contracted Citibank to be the lead arranger and coordinator of the required financing.
Ggoobi said progress has been made in acquiring the right of way, adding that Uganda is also in talks with the World Bank to support the project. Earlier, the Uganda delegation held talks with the World Bank team led by the Division Director for Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia and Uganda, Qimiao Fan, on financing the standard gauge railway.
Ggoobi said SGR is a key project for Uganda which will ease regional connectivity, reduce cargo transport costs and enhance trade competitiveness. The World Bank Division Director said the Bank is ready to support Uganda on this project and will consider the possible opportunities for financing of the project.
Uganda delegation led by the Minister of State for General Duties, Henry Musasizi also met the officials from Citibank led by Richard Hodder, the Managing Director and Global Head Export and Agency Finance to discuss progress made in mobilising the required financing for the SGR project.
