President Yoweri Museveni and his Senior Adviser on Special Operations, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, have arrived in St. Petersburg, Russia for Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, July 27, and Friday, July 28.
Museveni, in a tweet, is optimistic that the summit will benefit both Africa and Russia.
“I am glad to be in St. Petersburg, Russia, and looking forward to having fruitful engagements at the Russia- Africa summit, especially in areas of cooperation that are beneficial for both Russia & Africa,” President Museveni wrote on Twitter.
At the Pulkovo International Airport, St. Petersburg, Museveni was received by the Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Mikhail Leonidovich Bogdanov & Ugandan government officials.
While in Russia, President Museveni is expected to have a tête-à-tête session with his host, Russian President Vladimir Putin, on a wide range of issues.
He’s also expected to have several bilateral meetings and discussions with different delegations at the sidelines of the summit.
The Summit is the second after the inaugural one in 2019 in Sochi, which saw leaders and representatives of 43 of the 54 African countries participate. The Summit became a key milestone in Russian-African relations.
During the summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that “the development and consolidation of mutually beneficial ties with African nations and their integration associations is now one of Russia’s foreign policy priorities.”
Tomorrow’s summit will seek further cooperation between Russia and African nations in areas of, among others, military, economic, and political cooperation.
But, what could be Uganda’s areas of interest in this Summit?
Assert Uganda’s neutrality position on Russia-Ukraine conflict
Uganda wants to reaffirm its neutrality view of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and also communicate its sovereignty regarding its foreign policy.
Since imposing sanctions on Russia by the U.S and Russia, with attempts to isolate it as a ‘punishment’, for launching a Special Military Operation in Ukraine in February last year, pressures have been mounted on countries in the world, to support them and export control packages against Moscow.
Uganda, on all occasions, abstained in UN General Assembly votes regarding the same. In August last year, President Museveni said Uganda will continue cooperating with Russia since it is not Kampala’s doctrine to inherit other countries’ enemies.
“We want to trade with Russia. We want to trade with all countries of the world. We don’t believe in being enemies of somebody’s enemy, no. We want to make our own enemies not to fight other people’s enemies. This is our doctrine,” Museveni said.
He reiterated the same at the joint press conference with a European Union delegation last year. Two days later, Museveni defended the country’s relationship with Russia. “How can we be against somebody who has never harmed us?” Museveni asked.
“If Russia makes mistakes, we tell them,” Museveni said, citing his participation in student demonstrations against the crushing of the Prague Spring by the Soviet Union in 1968. But when they have not made a mistake, we can not be against them,” he added.
Museveni had earlier in meeting with the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations H.E Linda Thomas-Greenfield at State House Entebbe, told the U.S. to desist from involving Africa in sanctions imposed on Russia.
“We are also appealing to the U.S. that if they really want to help Africa, they should consider separating us from the sanctions in a war where we are not participating,” he noted.
The President reiterated the same last year while responding to a question by Plus News reporter Kungu Al-mahadi Adam during a media engagement at StateHouse, Nakasero. He said: “Why are we taking that stand (neutrality) on Russia-Ukraine conflict? It is because it is the correct one. We know the history very well. I have talked to all these leaders about our stand, and it is the correct one.”
Now that is the position Uganda would like to emphasize to the world. Uganda wants to communicate to the world powers that African states also have the back to determine the direction of their foreign policy.
Strengthening cooperation in trade and military
The visit comes at a time Uganda is trying to put up a 60,000 barrels-per-day refinery plant in the western district of Hoima in readiness for oil production planned to begin in 2025.
Russia, on the other hand, boasts centuries-old expertise in the extraction and export of oil and gas.
Russia exports to Uganda averaged about $50m for most of the years in the last decade but went up unusually again in 2020 by five-folds. This is the year after Museveni returned from Russia in 2019 for the first Russia-Africa summit.
Investment opportunities
Uganda looks at the summit as an avenue to attract foreign investors to Uganda.
President Museveni has in the recent past visit UAE, USA, UK among other countries courting investors the areas of energy, Agro-processing, tourism and hospitality, real estate, aviation, banking, mining, health and education sectors to prioritize Uganda.
In the past decade, Uganda has also tried to attract Russian private sector players with no success. In 2015, a consortium led by Russian companies was a surprise winner of a contract to construct a $4bn oil refinery. The company, however, walked away from the deal months later.
President Museveni could use this Summit to ask Russian investors to take advantage of the many untapped opportunities available in the country.
Debunk Foreign Interference
Last year, President Vladimir Putin of Russia signed a law expanding Russia’s restrictions on the promotion of what it calls “LGBT propaganda,” effectively outlawing any public expression of LGBT behaviour or lifestyle in Russia.
Uganda, on the other hand, this year passed a related law that criminalizing same-sex. The decision, however, angered the U.S., prompting President Joe Biden to direct President Museveni to immediately repeal the law on grounds that the legislation is a “tragic violation of universal human rights”.
The directive, issued in disregard of Uganda’s sovereignty, undermines mutual cooperation and instead imposes the abhorrent Western and U.S. practices on the African people.
While officiating at the national celebrations to mark Janani Luwum Day this year in Kitgum District, President Museveni said the West should stop seeking to impose its views to compel dissenting countries to “normalise” what he called “deviations”.
Homosexuality is outlawed in more than 30 African countries. This is what Africa has decided. It is what the people of Africa have chosen.
Museveni and other African leaders could use the platform to tell the U.S and the West the West that the problem of homosexuality is not something they should not force sovereign countries to normalise, but instead, respect individual countries’ values and cultures.
