This talks in Kampala between Uganda and Rwanda to resolve a row over security and spying allegations had already been pushed back a few times.
It was meant to happen in October, with both countries trading accusations on why it hadn’t gone ahead.
At the last meeting in Kigali in September, Rwanda gave Uganda a list of 200 names of citizens who it says are illegally detained in Uganda and should be released in order to ease tensions between the two countries.
Uganda accuses Rwanda of deploying its intelligence agents in Uganda and infiltrating the security services. Uganda has continued to arrest and deport dozens of Rwandans in the past weeks.
It is hoped the meeting will cement an agreement made in Angola’s capital Luanda in August, in which both countries agreed to resolve all issues between them. The deal was brokered by Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
These latest talks are not open to the press, so reporters are waiting for an official communique on what has been discussed.
But at least one participant was hopeful heading into Friday’s talks.
“We’ve witnessed the political will of Uganda and Rwanda to improve relations to the benefit of their respective populations,” said Angola’s Foreign Minister Manuel Domingos Augusto.
“We are confident that our two sister countries have all the necessary conditions to make this dialogue a success story.”