President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has reassured Algerian investors that Uganda is ready to cooperate with them in boosting trade and investment. The President the two countries have had a long-standing relationship since the 1960s.

“This historical relationship now can turn into an economy and prosperity for our people. Prosperity has two parts; the producer of a good or a service and the other part is a consumer because if I produce and nobody buys, I cannot be prosperous. So really our pockets are instruments of empowerment,” the President said.

He was meeting a delegation from Algeria headed by their Minister of Trade and Export Promotion, Tayeb Zitouni at State Lodge-Nakasero on Saturday, 30th September 2023.

President Museveni told the meeting that Africa has been empowering others all this time and it’s high time this stopped if Africa is to become prosperous.

“For instance, if you see how many Japanese vehicles which we buy, all that prosperity goes to the Japanese but what do they give in return? We buy more from the Japanese than they buy from us. But now we’re moving away and we are making our own vehicles,” the President said.

He revealed that he stopped the Japanese who wanted to start a motor vehicle assembling plant here after hearing that Uganda had raw materials needed.

“I said your chance is finished. I no longer want assembling because you missed that chance when I was asleep but now we’re going to make our own vehicles,” he revealed further.

The President told the Algerians that Ugandan bushes have a lot of medicine which their ancestors have been using for a long time in a traditional way and Ugandan scientists have of late made exciting discoveries including Covidex; well known for curing Coronavirus.

A high-powered Algerian delegation who included investors in Energy, Agricultural processing, Medicine and Pharmaceuticals, Paper recycling and packaging and Irrigation solutions, among others also discussed solutions to potential challenges that would affect trade relations of the two countries.

Tayeb informed President Museveni that Algeria imports milk from other countries worth 700 million US dollars and their hope was to channel that money to Uganda because of its quality fresh milk.