PRESIDENT MUSEVENI, GABON’S NGUEMA HOLD TALKS ON ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION AND REGIONAL COOPERATION

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,
industrialization, 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.