Museveni asks Iran for help in oil refinery development

President Museveni has again asked another Iran President, Ebrahim Raisi, who is visiting the country, to help Uganda with technology in the development of the oil refinery and petrochemical production. 

President Museveni said Iran has experience in oil production and petrochemical industry, which Uganda doesn’t have.
“There is an area of complementarity. I would urge the ministers to take up this matter (oil). And we shall appoint someone in the ministry of Foreign Affairs to be in charge of this desk,” President Museveni said while hosting Mr Raisi at State House in Entebbe yesterday.

Background
President Museveni’s call for Iran’s help comes at the time when some European countries and international organisations are exerting pressure on Uganda and financial institutions to stop the construction of oil refinery and the oil pipeline on allegations that it would lead to environmental challenges. The oil refinery is expected to cost between $4b and $5b (Shs16 trillion) to construct. Uganda is looking for foreign investors to fund the refinery construction project.

The Human Rights Watch, and the European Commission want the oil project in Uganda halted.
President Museveni insists on construction of both, and often says if the Western funders pull out, he would find willing partners in other parts of the world. 
Both presidents agreed that there is a need to escalate the sharing of technology in the oil sector and trade.

“We are ready to cooperate with Iran and the best area is trade. As you can see, the weather here is good and there is nothing in the world that we can’t produce. We have a lot of food. We only have the problem of the markets.... So we can do a lot of trade together,” President Museveni said.
Three memoranda of understanding (MoUs) were signed between the two countries. The MoUs covered agricultural development, security and trade.

In 2022, President Museveni, while meeting Dr Mahdi Safari, the then Iran deputy Foreign Minister in-Charge of Economic Diplomacy at State House Entebbe, proposed engaging in barter trade with Iran to be able to evade tight international and Western sanctions. 
“Uganda has got a lot of production of goods, including fresh products which Iran might be interested in and the two countries can exchange them in barter trade without going through the dollar,” President Museveni said then. 
This time round, President Museveni didn’t talk about barter trade between the two countries.
The two leaders later cancelled a scheduled press conference, saying that they had been caught up by time.

President Raisi said there is need to expand and promote the bilateral relationship between Uganda and Iran in areas of politics, economy, science and technology, but this time both sides should take effective steps to implement the memoranda of understanding (MoUs).

“You pointed out the exploitation of oil in your country and the necessity of creating and establishing refineries. When it comes to energy in general, and when it comes to the oil industry, the Republic of Iran enjoys good experience in this regard, and we stand ready to share our experiences with Uganda regarding refineries and in regard to technical and engineering science,” he said.

President Museveni pounded his table repeatedly as a sign of applauding his counterpart’s willingness to help Uganda in the refinery construction.

In 2009, President Museveni visited Iran where he invited Iranian investors to build an oil refinery in Uganda to process the crude oil that has been discovered in the western Uganda. 
President Raisi said he hoped that the MoUs they signed would be implemented.
“I hope that the MoUs that have been finished between sides will be implemented by the will and determination of the two countries, and I hope that the level of economic and trade relations will be multiplied,” President Raisi said.
Trade between Uganda and Iran has continued to drop due to international and Western economic sanctions to as low as Shs40b annually. 

Despite the fact that trade and economics were mentioned widely during the open session, there were few Ugandan experts or officials from those sectors. More senior security officers, including the Minister of Internal Affairs, Maj Gen (Rtd Kahinda Otafiire); the deputy Commander of Defence Forces, Lt Gen Peter Elwelu; Commissioner General of Prison Dr Johnson Byabashaija; Chief of Joint Staff of the Police, Maj Gen Abel Kandiho; and military generals from the Internal Affairs ministry attended both the open and closed-door meeting. 

Fighting terrorism
President Raisi, who cited the terror attack on a school in Mpondwe, Kasese District, said they would cooperate with Uganda in fighting terrorism and extremism. 

“We shall never forget the painful incident where 40 Ugandan children were killed in western part of your country in a terrorist attack. We believe we should stand together against these kinds of incidents. Uganda’s position to fight extremism is welcome,” he said.
He said his country would support Uganda’s stance against homosexuality amid Western sanctions and pressures. 

“The West is today trying to promote the ideal of homosexuality. And by homosexuality, they are trying to end the generation of human beings,” he said.