Uganda and Cuba have signed a collaboration agreement in the fields of science, technology and innovation.
The agreement was signed mid-September in Havana, Cuba on the sidelines of the meeting of the Heads of State of the Group 77 plus China on Science, Technology and Innovations Summit.
The signing was witnessed by Vice President Jessica Alupo and Uganda’s Ambassador to the Republic of Cuba, Elizabeth Sylvia Musazi. Foreign Affairs Minister Jeje Odongo Abubakhar signed on Uganda’s behalf.
“On the margins of the Summit, Jessica Alupo and her Cuban counterpart Salvador Valdés Mesa, jointly officiated at the opening ceremony of the Uganda Embassy in Havana that had been closed in August 2001,” the ministry said.
“Both Principals recalled the strong historical relations and solidarity and called for enhancing of both political and economic relations,” the ministry added.
The developments come a year after a delegation from Cuba visited President Yoweri Museveni, where he called for barter trade between the two countries.
Museveni then said Uganda and Cuba would benefit a great deal if they exchanged each other’s goods and services.
The president also expressed the need for investment in areas of science, manufacturing, and barter trade.
“There are good areas of business collaboration like the pathogenic industry in the manufacturing of vaccines that can capture the market in Uganda, East Africa, and Africa,” Museveni said.
He was of the view that Cuba can buy food products such as maize, powdered milk, and beans from Ugandan farmers in exchange for Cuban products such as pharmaceuticals just by exchange without money.
About Cuba
Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean consisting of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos.
Its nearest neighbours include the United States, Bahamas, Mexico, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.
The population of Cuba is 11.19 million as of Monday, September 18, 2023, according to the Worldometer extrapolation of the latest United Nations data
