President Yoweri Museveni has reiterated Africa’s need for value addition and industrialisation, warning that the continent cannot continue exporting raw materials without processing them locally.
Museveni made the remarks on Monday during a meeting with Mr. Nick Checker, the Senior Bureau Official in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs, at State House Entebbe.
Checker is representing Donald Trump at Tuesday’s swearing-in ceremony and was accompanied by a U.S. delegation.
In a statement shared after the meeting, Museveni emphasized that Africa’s economic transformation depends on industrialisation and the processing of its own resources.
“I emphasized the need for value addition and industrialisation across Africa. We cannot continue exporting raw materials such as coffee, oil and minerals without processing them,” Museveni said.
He noted that value addition is essential for expanding Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), creating employment opportunities and improving the purchasing power of citizens across the continent.
The President has consistently advocated for African countries to move away from dependence on raw commodity exports, arguing that exporting unprocessed products limits economic growth and denies Africans the benefits of industrial development.
The meeting comes ahead of Museveni’s swearing-in ceremony scheduled for Tuesday, which is expected to attract several regional leaders, diplomats and international representatives.
