Rwanda announced early Friday that it will reopen the Gatuna border post with Uganda at the end of the month, ending nearly three years of a standoff with the neighbor.

The announcement came barely a week after a meeting in Kigali between Rwandan President Paul Kagame and a Ugandan senior presidential adviser.

"In this regard and in line with the communique of the 4th quadripartite summit held at Gatuna/Katuna on Feb. 21, 2020, the government of Rwanda wishes to inform the public that the Gatuna border post between Rwanda and Uganda will be reopened from Jan. 31, 2022," the Rwandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said in a statement.

Other land border posts between the two countries will also reopen, and health authorities of both countries will work together to put in place necessary measures to facilitate movement in the context of COVID-19 preventive measures, it added.

Rwanda said it remains committed to ongoing efforts to resolve issues between the two countries and believes that the reopening of the border will contribute positively to the speedy normalization of their relations.

There was no immediate comment from Uganda, but the government retweeted the Rwandan statement on its official account.

In February 2019, Rwanda closed its border with Uganda, accusing Kampala of incarcerating its citizens. 

Uganda denied the allegations and instead accused Rwanda of infiltrating its security circles. Uganda also alleged that Rwanda had incarcerated its citizens too.

The border closure in 2019 had severely disrupted trade links in the region.

About seven months after the border closure, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and Kagame met in the Angolan capital Luanda in an effort to ease the tension.

The two leaders signed a memorandum of understanding and an ad hoc committee comprising ministers of foreign affairs and security officers from both countries was set up.

The committee has met several times and resulted in Uganda releasing some of the Rwandan nationals who had been accused of violating Ugandan laws.

(With input from Xinhua)