NAIROBI, Kenya—August 1, 2025. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has called for deeper regional integration and strategic cooperation as the foundation for East Africa’s sustainable prosperity and security. Speaking at Kenya’s National Defence College in Nairobi on Thursday, President Museveni delivered a powerful lecture to 72 senior military officers and government officials attending a high-level defence course.
Addressing future leaders from across the East African region, President Museveni emphasized the critical role of economic integration, regional trade, and shared identity in transforming Africa’s fortunes. He warned that the continent’s continued underdevelopment is rooted not in a lack of resources, but in fragmented markets, similar production patterns across neighbouring countries, and limited intra-African trade.
“The key to Africa’s prosperity lies in producing more goods and services, but we must also ask ourselves: Who is going to buy them?” Museveni posed, underlining the need for complementary production across the continent rather than duplication of industries.
He noted that East African countries often produce similar goods, limiting trade among themselves and forcing reliance on external markets. To remedy this, Museveni advocated for economic complementarity and rationalization, where countries specialize and collaborate based on comparative advantage.
“We all need each other to prosper,” he said. “Love Uganda because you need it. Love Kenya because you need it. Love Africa because you need it.”
A Call for Strategic Cooperation and Shared Identity
President Museveni further stressed the importance of strategic cooperation in achieving Africa’s development goals, noting that fragmented efforts hinder collective progress. He urged the region to form a united front based on shared interests, values, and vision.
“There is a pressing need for economic and strategic integration if Africa is to prosper. We must shift from isolated national ambitions to a common continental mission.”
Museveni proposed the adoption of Swahili as a unifying language across East Africa, describing it as a practical and symbolic tool to foster regional cohesion.
“By embracing Swahili, we can strengthen the bonds of unity and build a shared identity, a center of gravity that anchors our brotherhood and collective progress,” he stated.
Honouring Unity and Growth
In a symbolic gesture marking the importance of sustainability and generational responsibility, President Museveni planted a tree seedling at the college grounds after his address, an act reflecting both environmental consciousness and the planting of ideological seeds for Africa’s unity.
The event was graced by several high-ranking Kenyan government and military officials, including Cabinet Secretary for Defence Soipan Tuya, Cabinet Secretary for Cooperatives and MSMEs Wycliffe Oparanya, Permanent Secretary for Defence Patrick Mariru, and Lieutenant General Juma Mwinyikai, Commandant of the National Defence College.
A Vision for the Future
Concluding his address, President Museveni urged the continent’s emerging leaders to harness Africa’s vast resources, embrace unity, and champion a shared agenda for economic transformation, security, and dignity.
“Africa has all it needs: human capital, natural wealth, and strategic location. What we lack is integration. Let us build a future rooted in cooperation, where borders do not divide us but connect us,” he concluded.
President Museveni’s lecture reaffirmed his long-standing Pan-African vision and underscored Uganda’s commitment to the ideals of unity, strategic partnerships, and regional transformation.
