President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has called on world leaders to embrace mutual cooperation, innovation, and equality as the foundation for global peace and shared prosperity.
Speaking while chairing the 19th Ministerial Meeting of the Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) at Speke Resort Munyonyo on Wednesday, President Museveni said the world must move away from domination and ideological confrontation toward partnerships that benefit all nations.
“My advice to people in the world is that we concentrate on minimum mutually beneficial interests: trade, investments, tourism, and mutual support in any other area,” he said. “Where we don’t agree, let us act by good example and not coercion.”
The four-day meeting, running from October 13 to 16, brings together Foreign Affairs Ministers from NAM’s 121 member states, representatives of the United Nations, African Union, and other multilateral bodies. It serves as a midterm review of Uganda’s chairmanship following the successful 19th NAM Summit held in Kampala in January 2024.
President Museveni, who currently chairs the Non-Aligned Movement, praised the foresight of NAM’s founding leaders, noting that their vision of neutrality during the Cold War remains essential today.
“I salute the Non-Aligned Movement. Our elders who started it did us a great service because they achieved neutrality,” he said. “At that time, there was a conflict between the socialist and capitalist camps, but our elders said, ‘No, we want to judge issues on merit.’ That helped us then, and it is even more important today.”
He warned that hegemonic ambitions were outdated, saying, “Anybody who thinks they should control the world is wasting their time.”
Museveni drew lessons from history and religion to illustrate the futility of coercion and the power of positive example, citing the European Thirty Years’ War and the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire as consequences of resistance to progress.
“When capitalism emerged in France after the Revolution, Metternich of Austria-Hungary tried to stop it but failed. Where is Austria-Hungary today? It disappeared because it wanted to stop the evolution of history,” he said.
The President urged countries to celebrate technological and scientific progress as shared human advancement rather than sources of rivalry. “Once there is an advance in the control of nature through science, we should be very happy, and there should be no conflict,” he said, adding that the rise of China had benefited the world by making materials like steel more affordable.
Turning to Africa, Museveni reiterated that global prosperity depends on raising incomes across all regions. “If Africa’s GDP per capita was $20,000, we would have a total GDP of about $30 trillion. That would not only make Africa richer but benefit our trading partners because we would buy more from them,” he noted.
He called on NAM countries to prioritize industrialization, science, and human capital development as pathways to equitable global affluence.
“We are very happy that you have come to Uganda in such big numbers,” Museveni added. “When I look around and see all of us together, I believe we may be the hope of the world.”
Representatives from the United Nations and African Union commended Uganda’s active leadership of NAM. The UN Secretary-General’s representative praised Uganda’s stewardship and NAM’s continued relevance in a multipolar world.
H.E. Ambassador Musa Mohamed Omar, speaking on behalf of the African Union, called for unity among Global South nations to reform global governance. “Those who benefit from the current world order are defending the status quo,” he said. “But if we put our efforts in common, we will be able to influence the construction of a new, fairer world order.”
Founded in 1961 by leaders including Jawaharlal Nehru, Josip Broz Tito, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Sukarno, and Kwame Nkrumah, the Non-Aligned Movement remains the world’s second-largest international grouping after the United Nations, representing over 55% of the global population and two-thirds of UN member states.
