President Yoweri Museveni has met and held discussions with the
President of São Tomé and Principe, Carlos Manuel Vila Nova. During a meeting held at State House Entebbe, the two leaders discussed issues concerning bilateral relations between the two countries, with the key focus on economic cooperation.
President Museveni assured his guest that Uganda is ready to cooperate with São Tomé and Principe in various sectors of the economy.
FRESH FISH PROCESSING
“We will tap into this opportunity and co-operate in processing fish for you. I will call our fish processors here and we will discuss further on how we can work together,” Museveni said, according to a release from State House. “We have got about 22 factories for the processing of fresh water fish like Nile perch, tilapia and others along the shores of Lake Victoria. So, I think it would be a great idea for us to utilise that big ocean in your country and we start our partnership.” São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is an island country in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western Equatorial coast of central Africa. It consists of two archipelagos around the two main islands of São Tomé and Príncipe, about 150km apart and about 250km and 225km off the northwestern coast of Gabon. With a total population estimated at 201,800 in 2018, São Tomé and Príncipe is considered the second smallest and second-least populous African sovereign state after Seychelles.
PROSPERITY
President Museveni told Manuel that the National Resistance Movement (NRM) ideology of prosperity is the reason for the country’s progressive development since the 1980s, thus encouraging him to also implement such ideology. “For prosperity, as a country, you must be able to produce a good or a service and sell it and get money. The people need a market because if you produce something, and nobody buys, you will not be prosperous,” he added. “In my Ankole culture we are cattle keepers, we have milk, beef, bananas, coffee and ghee, but we cannot sell much to our tribemates because they also have the same products. That means that our prosperity depends more on Uganda than it depends on Ankole.” The President also noted that for a country to be prosperous, it must have the elements of patriotism, pan-Africanism, socio-economic transformation and democracy. “They are vital in promoting prosperity,” he added. For his part, President Manuel affirmed that his country is honoured to partner with Uganda in order to enhance the economies of both countries. “I support this move, let us see how we can work together in this sector,” he noted.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
President Manuel further expressed gratitude towards President Museveni for his efforts aimed at promoting economic development and bringing peace to the region. “Thank you for inviting me, I am very honoured to be here. As a small island country with a population of about 200,000 people, we have a lot to learn from regional leaders like you.” Manuel, who is on a two-day working visit to Uganda, will visit Kiira Motors Corporation in Jinja. The meeting was also attended by the foreign affairs minister, Gen. Jeje Odongo and the director general of the External Security Organisation, Ambassador Joseph Ocwet.
