Museveni hails progress in Uganda-Algeria trade ties

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has expressed his appreciation to Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune for the significant progress made on the action points and cooperation agreements between Uganda and Algeria.

On December 13, 2024, President Museveni welcomed Ahmed Attaf, the Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, who was on an official visit as a special envoy of President Tebboune.

Their discussions offered a chance to review the positive outcomes of the decisions made during President Museveni’s state visit to Algeria in March 2023, further advancing the bilateral ties between the two nations.

The agreements and memorandums of understanding were in the fields of energy, tourism, agriculture, animal health, education, and scientific research, and according to Attaf, the Algerian President is personally following up on the implementation of all the decisions made.

He informed President Museveni that trade between the two countries has gone up and the coffee imports from Uganda have risen from $13 million to $16 million. He said milk imports have also risen from $$800 million to $1 billion, and more Ugandan companies have been shortlisted to start exporting to Algeria.

On education, President Museveni was happy to learn that the number of scholarships offered by Algeria to Ugandan students in science-based courses has increased from 100 to 217 and is fully absorbed.

“I’m very happy with the message and I thank H.E. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune,” Museveni said.

The second part of the message was a request for President Museveni's support for Algeria's bid to secure the vice-chairperson position of the African Union Commission. Algeria's Ambassador, Selma Malika Haddadi, is competing against Morocco's candidate, Latifa Akharbach, for the role.

On his part, President Museveni informed Attaf that for the chairmanship position, Uganda is supporting Kenya’s Raila Odinga not only in solidarity with East Africa but also because of the Pan-Africanist Odinga.

During this meeting, Minister Attaf delivered a written message from President Tebboune to President Museveni and conveyed fraternal greetings, expressing a desire to further strengthen Algerian-Ugandan relations and expand their collaborative efforts.

President Museveni and Attaf also discussed issues on the African Union agenda, along with current continental and international matters, including developments in the occupied Palestinian territories and the broader Middle East region, as well as the decolonisation process in Western Sahara.