President Yoweri Museveni has revealed that he held talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and invited his host to invest in Uganda’s oil and gas sector.
Museveni who is in Russian to attend the Africa-Russia business summit said he also requested Russia to stop importing raw materials from Africa and rather add value from within the producing countries.
“On the sidelines of the ongoing summit, I held bilateral talks with President Putin. My main proposition to Russia is that they discourage, by policy, the importation of raw materials from Africa and instead work with Africans to add value to their raw materials at source,” Museveni said shortly after the meeting on Thursday, July 28.
“In that regard, I have invited Russia to take interest in a number of business opportunities in fields of oil and gas, agriculture, production, the pathogenic economy, industry and space science,” he added.
Museveni also said: “On the military side, Uganda has managed to become an island of peace in our part of the world, due to our cooperation through procurement of equipment from Russia over the years.”
Earlier, the foreign affairs ministry said Uganda will be hoping to convince Russia to invest in the east African country’s agriculture using modern technology.
Uganda and Russia have enjoyed warm historical bilateral relations especially during the anti-colonial times.
The ministry also said Uganda’s interest will be in development of the oil industry, securing fertilizer access, and promoting trade and investment.
The second Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum is a follow up on the first Russia-Africa Summit which took place in October 2019 in Sochi on Russia’s Black Sea coast. The summit was held under the theme, “For Peace, Security and Development”. It was co-hosted by Putin and President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi of Egypt.
This summit is being held in St. Petersburg, participants included leaders of 17 countries, four heads of State, and representatives of 49 African organizations and associations.
After the summit, Museveni will head to Belgrade, Serbia where he will open the first ever Ugandan trade hub that is designed to serve the Balkan region.
