NAIROBI — President Yoweri Museveni has reaffirmed Uganda’s commitment to safeguarding its oil resources and prioritising value addition, saying the country will not rush into agreements that undermine long-term national benefits.
Museveni made the remarks on Thursday while officiating at the Africa We Build Summit 2026 in Nairobi, where he joined Kenyan President William Ruto and other regional leaders to discuss infrastructure, energy, and industrial development across East Africa.
According to a statement from Uganda’s Ministry of East African Community Affairs, Museveni stressed that Uganda’s oil strategy is anchored on sovereignty and regional cooperation, particularly through refining and infrastructure development.
“Uganda will not allow its resources to be undervalued or rushed into deals that deny our people long-term benefits. Our refinery is about sovereignty, value addition, and ensuring that East Africans reap the rewards of their own wealth,” Museveni said.
The President emphasised that Uganda’s planned oil refinery is central to transforming crude resources into finished petroleum products locally, reducing dependency on imports, and strengthening regional energy security.
The summit brought together policymakers, financiers, and infrastructure developers under a shared agenda of promoting industrialisation across the continent.
Officials noted that Museveni and Ruto later held a closed-door bilateral meeting to further discuss energy cooperation, including cross-border infrastructure such as pipelines linking Uganda’s oil fields to regional markets.
The discussions come as East African countries push forward with major petroleum infrastructure projects, including Uganda’s long-anticipated oil development programme in the Albertine Graben.
Supporters of the initiative argue that local refining capacity will enhance economic sovereignty, create jobs, and shield the region from global fuel price shocks.
The summit also highlighted growing momentum for coordinated regional investment in energy infrastructure, with leaders calling for greater integration in transport, pipelines, and industrial processing.
Museveni’s remarks were widely shared by official government channels, underscoring Uganda’s continued push to position oil development as a strategic pillar of national economic transformation.
