“I see you want to take blood from me,” Uganda’s president tells Japan

“I see you want to take blood from me,” Uganda’s president tells Japan ©provided by Business Insider Africa

President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda has expressed discontent with some of the country’s Japanese partners. In a recent address at the NAM conference, the president stated that the Japanese appeared unwise. His statements stemmed from Japanese vehicle merchants’ failure to match Uganda’s rising business intents.

・President Museveni criticizes Japanese partners for their failure to match Uganda’s rising business ambitions.

・The Ugandan leader emphasizes the importance of manufacturing over the assembly.

・Museveni advocates for intra-NAM trade.

According to the Ugandan news publication, The Monitor, Uganda’s president disclosed that he has grown impatient with the business model of foreign industrial complexes trying to assemble instead of outrightly manufacturing in Uganda.

According to the report by the publication, President Museveni stated after the week-long Non-Aligned Movement, an annual conference of 120 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc, that the West has failed to properly apply”the principle of aggregate demand at the expense of Africa and the global south.”

He stated:“All clans of Japanese vehicles are here. Since 1962, we have been buying a lot of vehicles from Japan… But the Japanese are not wise traders.

I told them, you Japanese, we are enriching you with our pockets, why don’t you come and assemble these vehicles in Uganda? They were not interested. I see you want to take blood from me, but you don’t want to give some blood to me.”

Uganda has made some progress in manufacturing homemade electrical vehicles, however, the country is largely dependent on foreign-made automobiles.

“Now my Japanese people came saying we want to assemble vehicles here, but I said, too late, sorry. I’m no longer interested in assembling, I only want manufacturing, if you don’t want, bye-bye,” the president disclosed.

He went on to emphasize the importance of the NAM, noting that the member states should take advantage of the large market it controls. He also noted that there should be cooperation within the group rather than exploitation.

“The NAM countries should not be part of this blindness of thinking I should only buy from you as you buy nothing from me,” President Museveni stated.

“We should promote trade amongst ourselves, because when I buy from you, I’m supporting your prosperity, and when you buy from me, you’re supporting my prosperity,” the president added.

Uganda played host to the 19th Non-Aligned Movement Summit, (NAM) which began on the 15th of January 2024. Around 1500 representatives from across the globe were expected to be in attendance.

Additionally, an estimated 28 presidents were expected to be in attendance with the president of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, who is also set to be the Chairman of NAM for the next three years.