President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has today hosted the President of Gabon, H.E. Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema at State House, Entebbe.
The high-level meeting focused on economic transformation, industrialisation, agriculture and regional cooperation.
During the meeting, President Nguema congratulated President Museveni upon his inauguration, describing the occasion as historic.
“I could not see anyone else winning other than you because you are a freedom fighter and a father for Africa,” President Nguema said.
He added that although African summits are common, witnessing President Museveni’s swearing-in ceremony was “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
President Nguema commended Uganda for supporting the training of Gabonese officer cadets.
“You trained some of my officer cadets here and I am willing to send more to be trained in Uganda,” he said.
The two leaders also discussed oil refinery development and value addition on the African continent.
President Museveni said Africa must stop exporting raw materials and instead focus on processing them locally to create jobs and wealth.
“The amount of oil is bigger than what the refinery can currently process, and we are now working with investors to build a bigger refinery,” President Museveni said.
“We want to process our raw materials ourselves, and this message is now spreading all over Africa,” he added.
On agriculture, President Nguema disclosed that Gabon had taken deliberate steps to boost local production and reduce imports.
“We have decided to ban the importation of chicken and are now giving incentives so that we can start producing chicken ourselves. If you have farmers who can come to Gabon and help us in this business, we are ready to welcome them,” President Nguema said.
In response, President Museveni assured his counterpart that Uganda was ready to cooperate with Gabon in agricultural development and value addition.
He noted that Uganda had made progress in promoting processed agricultural products such as coffee, tea, honey, milk and yoghurt.
President Museveni also shared Uganda’s economic transformation strategy, which he said is anchored on four key sectors including commercial agriculture, ICT, manufacturing/ artisanship and services.
He further emphasised the importance of supporting the private sector, citing Uganda’s decision to welcome back Asian business communities that had been expelled during Idi Amin’s regime.
“When Idi Amin expelled the Indians, there were about 4,000 small shops and factories in the whole of Uganda. I said, why chase them away? Let them come back because Uganda must respect the private sector,” President Museveni said.
President Museveni also encouraged President Nguema to remain steadfast in his reforms and economic programmes.
“What you are doing, don’t worry. We started this struggle in the 1960s. There were only a few of us who were firm against colonial domination, but persistence is important,” President Museveni said.
He further commended the Gabonese leader for championing economic transformation in his country.
“I am glad for what you are doing in Gabon because African leaders made a lot of mistakes in the past, but I am happy that we are now able to correct some of them,” President Museveni said.
On his part, President Nguema pledged to continue following President Museveni’s ideas on African self-reliance and economic empowerment.
“We are not afraid. We follow your ideas and we shall be strong,” President Nguema said.
