President Museveni has called on the European Union to support Africa’s industrialisation by investing in local processing of raw materials to create jobs and increase earnings on the continent.
The President made the remarks while hosting and co-chairing the first Uganda-EU Partnership Dialogue at State House, Entebbe.
The meeting, held as Uganda and the EU mark 50 years of cooperation, brought together senior government officials and European diplomats to discuss trade, climate action, development cooperation, governance, human rights, security and regional and global issues.
President Museveni identified value addition, poverty eradication, irrigation, environmental conservation and affordable energy as areas where the EU could work more closely with Uganda.
“Europe should really help Africa process its raw materials. Your companies should be encouraged and facilitated to work with African countries so they export refined products and create more jobs. We must all process fully so that we all become partners and not victims of cooperation,” he said.
Museveni said Africa continues to lose jobs and income by exporting raw materials instead of processing them locally.
He cited coffee as an example, saying a kilogramme of unprocessed coffee beans could fetch about $2 compared with approximately $40 when processed.
The President also said the global coffee business is worth approximately $460 billion, while coffee-producing countries collectively earn about $25 billion. He cited Germany, which does not produce coffee, as earning about $65 billion from the coffee business.
“This is really the fault of the African leaders who have betrayed their people. They give away African resources daily instead of maximising what God gave us, especially by selling unprocessed raw materials. This is criminal,” Museveni said.
He said Uganda’s policy of discouraging the export of unprocessed raw materials is intended to retain more value within the country.
Museveni also pointed to the size of Africa’s economy, putting the continent’s combined GDP at approximately $3.8 trillion, compared with about $32 trillion for the United States and more than $20 trillion for China.
He argued that greater prosperity across countries would expand markets and create more opportunities for trade and investment.
“I reject this idea of partial wealth. It is satanic, bankrupt and self-defeating. Why would you be blind and fail to see that your neighbour’s prosperity is your own interest? How can they say trading with poor people is better than trading with rich people?” he asked.
Museveni said Uganda’s exports to Europe, which he put at €1.8 billion, could rise significantly if the country processed more of its products before export.
“In my view, the €1.8 billion exports to Europe, we should be talking of tens of billions, if not hundreds. That is still suppressed demand because if we were adding value here, we would earn much more than this,” he said.
He said higher export earnings would also enable Uganda to import more European products, including medical equipment and machine tools.
Museveni also proposed that the EU consider becoming an associate member of the African Union, pointing to the historical relationship and geographical proximity between Africa and Europe.
“The historical relationship between Africa and Europe can be better used. I have suggested that the European Union could become associate members of the African Union because of proximity,” he said.
PDM, irrigation and agriculture
The President asked the EU to support the Parish Development Model, which aims to move households from subsistence production into the money economy.
“You help me support the PDM so that we convert at least seven million of the households out of poverty. Support the Ugandans to create jobs; that will be an easier entry point,” he said.
Museveni also called for support for large-scale irrigation, saying the recent delay in rainfall had demonstrated the need to reduce agriculture’s dependence on rain.
“God has woken up a bit of Ugandans by causing drought. The rain delayed for two months, and I thanked God that He is doing it deliberately to wake them up. We want to launch massive irrigation to stabilise agriculture,” he said.
Wetlands and affordable electricity
On environmental protection, Museveni called for support to protect wetlands and forests from encroachment and inappropriate farming practices.
He proposed fish farming around wetlands and increased irrigation as alternatives to cultivation in protected areas. He also asked for support in acquiring earth-moving equipment to construct valley dams and improve water conservation.
On energy, Museveni called for private investment backed by patient capital to provide affordable electricity for industrial production.
“We need either the private sector with patient capital because we don’t want to have expensive electricity. We are ensuring that for manufacturing it should be five cents,” he said.
Governance and sovereignty
President Museveni said Uganda welcomed dialogue with the EU but wanted the country’s sovereignty and domestic decision-making processes respected.
“Once you don’t interfere with our political issues and social issues, leave us; don’t interfere with us. Influence people, for example, do what you think is right, but don’t manipulate,” he said.
He said Uganda was open to exchanging views with European partners but opposed foreign funding intended to influence domestic political choices.
On social issues, Museveni reiterated the government’s position on homosexuality, saying Uganda did not support its promotion as an alternative way of life.
EU reaffirms commitment to Uganda
The EU delegation was led by its Ambassador to Uganda, H.E. Jan Sadek, who co-chaired the dialogue.
Ambassador Sadek said European support to Uganda over the past 50 years amounted to approximately €20 billion.
“Uganda’s voice matters. We ought to work together. We want to be reliable and predictable, working together with Uganda. Fifty years gives us a lot to reflect on and see what to do next in our partnership,” he said.
Sadek said the EU wanted more processing of Ugandan products to take place within the country so that the economic benefits remained in Uganda.
He cited Ugandan chocolate as one product with potential to attract European investment and enter European markets.
The ambassador also announced €50 million in new support for conservation and tourism.
He thanked Uganda for its military contribution to African Union operations in Somalia and its wider role in regional security. He also commended Uganda’s response to Ebola and called for continued information sharing.
Trade, investment and regional security
According to the meeting account, the EU is Uganda’s largest trading partner outside Africa, with bilateral trade estimated at €2.4 billion annually and Uganda recording a trade surplus of approximately €1 billion.
The two sides agreed to establish structured talks on improving the business environment and continue discussions on Uganda’s access to the EU market, including through a possible Economic Partnership Agreement.
They also agreed to hold a dedicated security dialogue.
The discussions covered cooperation under the EU’s Global Gateway initiative, climate action, renewable energy and refugee support. Team Europe is contributing more than €520 million towards refugee-related interventions.
The EU acknowledged Uganda’s role in regional peace and security, particularly in Somalia, where it said it had provided almost €2.8 billion in support since 2007.
It also encouraged Uganda to continue contributing to stability in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia and South Sudan.
The two sides discussed international developments, including Russia’s war against Ukraine, multilateral cooperation and international criminal justice institutions.
Uganda and the EU agreed to hold the Partnership Dialogue annually.
The EU delegation included ambassadors and heads of mission from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and Austria, alongside non-resident representatives from Czechia and Spain.
Uganda was represented by senior government officials including Foreign Affairs Minister Hon. Adonia Ayebare, Defence and Veteran Affairs Minister Hon. Kiryowa Kiwanuka, Attorney General Dr Sam Mayanja, Agriculture Minister Hon. Frank Tumwebaze, Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Hon. Norbert Mao, Water and Environment Minister Hon. Kahinda Otafiire, Trade, Industry and Cooperatives Minister Hon. Sanjay Tanna, and State Minister for Finance, Planning and Economic Development Hon. Amos Lugoloobi.
