The government plans to extend the oil pipeline from Eldoret to Kampala.

Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetang'ula said a feasibility study is currently being conducted to explore the possibility of extending the pipeline further to Bujumbura, Burundi via Kigali, Rwanda.

Wetang'ula said this on Wednesday in Bujumbura shortly after presenting a special message to the Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza from President Mwai Kibaki, the Chairman of the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR).

Wetang'ula said the expansion would go a long way in easing fuel crises that Burundi, a landlocked country which depends considerably on the port of Mombasa may be facing.

The talks between him and the Burundian President centered on strengthening regional integration within the East African Community, business, security and politics, Wetang'ula said.

During the visit Wetangu'la and his Burundian counterpart Antoinette Batumubwira, signed a General Agreement Framework for Cooperation.

This agreement will see the two countries harnessing and exchanging human and physical resources in various fields such as education, trade and infrastructure.

Wetangula who was acting as President Kibaki's special envoy to Bujumbura officially inaugurated the Kenyan Embassy in Bujumbura, located on PTA Bank Building.

The Kenyan Ambassador to Burundi, Benjamin Mweri said that members of the Diplomatic Corps in Burundi are committed to the peace process there and will ensure that Burundi becomes an Island of peace.

The Embassy was established in December 2007 but Mweri was appointed three months earlier.

He presented his credentials to President Nkurunziza on March 30 this year.

Burundi's Minister for External Affairs, Antoinette Batumubwira hailed the opening of the Kenyan embassy as a vote of confidence in the Burundi government.

"The opening of the Kenyan Embassy is a sure indicator that Burundi is successfully winning friends after being isolated for some time. It also means our diplomacy is growing", she said.

She disclosed that since the last election in Burundi in 2005, Nigeria, Germany and the Netherlands have established embassies while the UK opened a liaison office.

Wetang'ula said Kenya takes great pride in its relations with its neighbors, particularly those within the COMESA region.

"Our exports contribute 43% of exports to COMESA," he said.

With the establishment of the Burundi Embassy, the Minister said Kenya has now completed the opening of missions, having previously been in all regions except Burundi.

"I have given specific instructions to all our diplomats wherever they are to engage in commercial diplomacy," he said.

"One of the most pertinent things that the East African Community is considering is the laying of a railway track from Kampala to Bujumbura and making Kiswahili the lingua franca in this region," he said.

Wetang'ula said by 2013 all barriers that impede free movement of citizens of the members of the EA Federation will be removed.