Museveni, Iranian President Discuss Oil Sector, Security Cooperation

President Yoweri Museveni said he discussed collaborating with his Iranian counterpart, Sayyid Ebrahim Raisolsadati, on a number of sectors, including oil and security.

"Today, we shared on the possibilities to collaborate on the pathogenic and petrochemical industries, agriculture, fighting terrorism and extremism and harnessing our science, innovation and technology cadre-ship," said President Museveni following a meeting with Raisolsadati who arrived in Kampala on Wednesday.

President Museveni noted that Uganda and Iran have had good relations since the Islamic Revolution. "This fundamental principle has taken us through years of cooperation and we look forward to strengthening and diversifying the same," he said.

Museveni welcomed Dr. Syed Ebrahim Raisi to Uganda with assurance to him of Uganda’s readiness to continue the cooperation and the good relations that have existed since the Islamic revolution. “We are always ready to cooperate with Iran and this area of cooperation is straight,” President Museveni said, adding that the cooperation is due to Iran's Anti-imperialism position, a reason he has visited Iran many times and most of the Presidents of Iran have in the past visited Uganda.

President Museveni told his Iranian counterpart and his delegation that there is nothing Uganda cannot produce because of her good climate. He mentioned items especially food; bananas, maize, coffee, cocoa and fish adding that the problem has always been access to markets and Iran's cooperation comes in handy. “We can do a lot of trade together. Iran has got experiences which we don’t have,” Museveni added. President Museveni appreciated Iran for motivating him to develop Uganda's oil resources especially constructing an oil refinery in Uganda.

“We have some little oil here which we discovered a few years ago. I had some people discourage us from building an oil refinery saying it’s not profitable, I wondered why many countries continue to have refineries if they were not profitable!”

Museveni said that when he visited Iran, he was informed that the Islamic country had nine oil refineries and in advanced stages of constructing more. “So, when I came back, I put my foot down and said we are constructing an oil refinery and develop a petrochemical industry. So, you can see the areas of complementarity and I would urge the ministers to take this matter seriously,” Museveni said.

On his part, the Iranian President thanked President Museveni for the warm welcome to Uganda on their mission to further expand their bilateral relations with friendly and aligned African countries in economic diplomacy and political relations. Dr. Raisi said Iran is ready to share experiences with Uganda in areas such as Energy, Oil and Technology. He also commended President Museveni for standing firm against Homosexuality, saying it’s not only against the culture and family values but also the human race.

President Raisi said Iran is ready to walk with Uganda in this fight. He also hailed President Museveni for championing peace and stability on the African continent by getting involved in the fight against terrorism and extremism and other forms of human rights violations. Later, Uganda and Iran signed five memoranda of understanding (MoUs) on Agriculture, Foreign Affairs and on establishment of a Joint Permanent commission.

Ebrahim Rais becomes the third president of Iran to visit Uganda, following Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who was here in April 2010 and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani who visited Uganda in 1996. This rare Africa tour by the Iranian President after 11 years is a new turning point which will bolster economic and trade ties with African nations. The ceremony was attended by high-ranking delegations of both countries that included Ministers and service chiefs