By Faridah N Kulumba
Africa-Press – Uganda. The Islamic Republic of Iran Ebrahim Raisi on 12th July arrived in Uganda on two days of official visit. He was received by the President of Uganda Yoweri Kaguta Museveni at State House Entebbe where they held meetings on several issues that were intended to strengthen the excellent bilateral relations between the two nations.
President Raisi started the three- African country tour from Kenya where he was received by Kenyan counterpart William Ruto, from there he headed to Uganda and his last tour will be ended in Zimbabwe.
His visit to Uganda came a few days after the government of Uganda announced that they are searching for new investors for USD 4.5 billion oil project after an agreement with the American and Italian films consortium expired in June this year.
Aims
The three-African country tour was the first by an Iranian president in the past 11 years and represents a bid to diversify economic ties in the face of crippling United States (U.S.) sanctions.
President Raisi’s tour is aimed at improving political and trade cooperation with the three African states and diversifying Iran’s export destinations.
According to President Raisi, Africa is a “continent of opportunities”, and his visit is aimed at boosting commercial ties with African countries. He emphasized that many countries are not satisfied with the current volume of trade and the current economic exchange between countries.
The government of Iran expects trade with African countries to increase to more than USD 2 billion this year, without providing a comparative figure for 2022 according to Iran’s foreign ministry.
Uganda and Iran relations in recent years
During President Raisi’s visit to Uganda, four cooperation documents were signed in the presence of the two nations’ heads of state.
Among the bilateral agreements signed between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the government of Uganda included visa waiver, agricultural cooperation, and the establishment of a joint permanent commission.
The Republic of Uganda and the Islamic Republic of Iran Uganda enjoy cordial relations under the current regimes. A number of bilateral measures have been undertaken by the two countries.
Despite the Western nation’s attempt to use its diplomatic and economic powers to isolate Iran over its nuclear development, President Museveni has maintained a cordial relationship with Tehran.
The president of Uganda Museveni made frequent visits to Iran and three of Iran’s heads of state have also visited Uganda. The first one was President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in 1996.
During Mr. Rafsanjani’s visit to Uganda, both leaders signed several agreements on trade, telecommunication, fisheries, and veterinary sectors.
President Rafsanjani’s visit led to the establishment of an Iranian charge d’affaires in Uganda in 1997 and in 1998 Iran’s embassy in Uganda was opened.
On one of President Museveni’s visits to Iran, he had a discussion with Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, and the two leaders agreed to establish an air link between Uganda and Iran. However, the project failed. In 2005, President Khatami also visited Uagnada to strengthen economic ties.
Four years later, President Museveni Visited Iran where he invited Iranian investors to build an oil refinery in Uganda. The next year, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Uganda amid protest from the U.S. government and its allies, who were key funders of President Museveni’s government and Uganda’s Defence ministry. The government of Iran agreed to build a medical centre for the Uganda Police Force in Kampala.
After the signed deal between Uganda and Iran, many Western countries stopped funding the Uganda Police Forces.
Last year, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Mehdi Safari visited Uganda to explore ways to increase bilateral interactions.
During his visit, the two nations held talks on the imminent holding of a joint economic committee meeting, and expansion of investment in coffee, herd breeding, oil, small industries, and agricultural products as well as the establishment of a permanent fairground for Iran-made products in the African country.
Uganda and Iran also agreed on the implementation of cooperation agreements, and the exchange of political and economic delegations to evaluate ways to strengthen mutual ties.
Uganda’s Imports from Iran were USD 2.68 million in 2020, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. Uganda Imports from Iran – data, historical chart, and statistics – was last updated in July of 2023.
In 2020, Uganda Imported Iran mineral fuels, oils, and distillation products valued at USD 2.17M.
During his visit, President Raisi offered Museveni support for the major project to build a domestic oil refinery and pipeline that has been opposed by environmental groups and faced legal action in France and criticism in the European Parliament.
Raisi said Tehran was ready to share its oil industry experience, while the West was “not generally interested to see countries who enjoy great resources and national reserves to be independent.”
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