Museveni to attend the Russia-Africa summit

The summit, which will be held on Thursday and Friday this week in St. Petersburg, Russia, is likely to attract quite a number of African leaders.

The war in Ukraine is expected to be at the top of the agenda given that many African countries import wheat from Ukraine, a food consumed by the majority on the continent.

The summit comes against the backdrop of about six African countries that have tried to act as mediators between Russia and Ukraine.

The countries were led by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who announced the initiative following phone discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Both warring countries applauded Ramaphosa's idea, as did the leaders of Egypt, the Republic of Congo, Senegal, Uganda, and Zambia.

Because of the economic toll of this war, Africa has a special interest in trying to end it.

The continent has faced a surge in prices as fuel and food prices have risen dramatically.

The summit also comes at a time when Uganda is trying to prepare for oil exploration. The country hopes to gain knowledge about oil, which it hopes to implement in its efforts to propel itself from a lower-income country to a middle-income country.

After attending the summit in Russia, Museveni will visit Belgrade to inaugurate a hub for promoting Uganda’s tourism, trade, and investment potential in line with bolstering commercial diplomacy in Eastern Europe.