DAR ES SALAAM, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian president John Magufuli and his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday directed their ministers to resolve disputes affecting trade between the two East African countries.

A statement by the Directorate of Presidential Communication at State House in Dar es Salaam said the two leaders directed the ministers to resolve the trade dispute in the Ugandan capital Kampala shortly before the start of the East African Community (EAC) heads of state summit.

The statement said Magufuli and Kenyatta were keen on seeking thriving trade between the two neighbors, adding that the leaders were disappointed to learn that the dispute arose from very minor issues.

Earlier this month, the two countries agreed to end their trade disputes, paving the way for increase in intra-EAC trade.

The two countries have had a bumpy trade relation in the last few years, culminating in a significant drop of Kenya's exports to Tanzania by 60 percent in the first six months in 2017, according to data published by Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).

Trade between Kenya and Tanzania constitutes over 45 percent of the entire trade within the EAC, data from the Kenya Economic Survey 2017 shows.