Kampala
Uganda will not export crude oil, President
Museveni said during a one-day visit to South Sudan for talks with his
counterpart on bilateral trade.
In a press statement from State House, the
President said Uganda had confirmed the existence of 3.5 billion barrels
of oil in 40 per cent of the area so far surveyed. “Uganda is not
anxious to export crude oil because this would make the country lose the
by-products accruing from refined crude.”
While addressing a joint news conference in Juba
at the end of the discussions with President Salva Kiir, Mr Museveni
said Uganda was looking forward to building an oil refinery. Asked about
the issue of the border between Uganda and South Sudan, the President
said there was no problem, adding that it was the work of surveyors “to
sort out [the border issue] using recorded colonial documents”.
According to online sources, South Sudan is one of
the largest importers of Ugandan goods, with more than 150,000 Ugandan
traders operating across the border.
It is also estimated that 1,500 Ugandans work in
South Sudan’s construction industry and 1,200 are employed in NGOs and
ministries. The two governments have taken steps to strengthen economic
ties, including a joint project to construct a state-of-the-art market
in Juba, to cost $850,000 (about Shs2.1b).
Mr Kiir said the two countries needed to improve
their border and customs relations to enhance bilateral trade and ensure
that there is no delay in business transactions. Meanwhile, Mr
Museveni, who travelled from Nimule to Juba by road, said it was “very
important that people cross borders without being delayed”.
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