KAMPALA – President Museveni Monday, February 11 met with and congratulated President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) at the Sheraton Hotel Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The two discussed key matters in relation to the common border, notably: the ADF and ebola threats, which issues when eliminated could lead to improved relations in other areas such as trade.
Museveni called upon his counterpart to work towards the extermination of the ADF in Eastern Congo to which Tshisekedi said: “They (ADF) are not a big problem. They will be jointly and materially eliminated.”
The meeting came at the end of the 32nd Ordinary Summit of African Union Heads of State in Ethiopia.
Earlier, the President had said that unless Africa integrates economically and politically, it stands the risk of being overrun by external forces like it happened at colonialism.
Museveni said Africa’s future could only be guaranteed if the continent took advantage of its numbers and united.
“There are two issues that are crucial for our future. These are: political and economic integration of Africa. Our view is that African integration means three things: prosperity, security and fraternity,” President Museveni told the audience that periodically cheered as he spoke.
For economic integration, President Museveni said the numbers were critical in providing market for goods and services produced by Africans.
“When companies or families produce products (goods) or services, how many consumers will buy those products? If a product does not have enough buyers, the business will fail,” he said.
Besides stimulating production, President Museveni noted, an integrated market also enable Africa to negotiate credibly with the other big markets such as the USA, China, India, Russia, European Union, and so on.
“It is good that, recently, we agreed on the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA). Let us implement its provisions. It is the way to prosperity and part of the answer for under-development, poverty and joblessness,” he added.
Making a case for political integration, the President said it was critical especially in addressing the issue of strategic security.
