Foreign Secretary visits Uganda MyZA

Foreign Secretary visits Uganda:

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson visited Uganda on 15 March, to call on President Museveni at State House, Entebbe. The visit – the most senior by a member of the British Government in recent years – follows those of FCO Minister Baroness Anelay and DFID Minister James Wharton earlier in 2017.

As committed Commonwealth states, President Museveni and the Foreign Secretary agreed that the UK-Uganda relationship was now more important than ever. Mr Johnson noted the existing close political dialogue, strong trade relations, and excellent defence and cultural links between the two countries, and expressed his wish to continue to grow this relationship in the future.

At the meeting, President Museveni and Mr Johnson discussed a number of regional issues, including the situations in South Sudan, Somalia and the DRC. The Foreign Secretary commended Uganda’s response to the massive influx of refugees from South Sudan. He noted that this humanitarian crisis requires a political solution, encouraging President Museveni to continue engaging with the parties to this end.

The Foreign Secretary said: I am delighted to be in Uganda, referred to by the great British Prime Minister Winston Churchill as the “Pearl of Africa”. I had a very productive meeting this evening with H.E. President Museveni. I travelled here directly from Somalia. It was appropriate that Uganda was the next stop on my visit, given the great sacrifices this country has made as the largest troop contributor to the peacekeeping mission there.

During his visit to Uganda, the Foreign Secretary also held meetings with Minister of Foreign Affairs Hon Sam Kutesa, and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Hon Okello Oryem.

The Foreign Secretary’s visit to Uganda is part of a wider programme, which included him spending a day in Mogadishu, to understand the challenges faced ahead of the forthcoming Somalia Conference, which will take place in London in May. From Kampala, he continued his regional visit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Distributed by APO on behalf of British High Commission Kampala.

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