• Commonwealth:
• News:
• News Archive Search:
• Market access is vital to development, says Uganda’s President

Market access is vital to development, says Uganda’s President

12 March 2008

President Yoweri Museveni addresses High Commissioners in London

Developing countries will benefit significantly from learning successful methods used by other members of the international community who have “transformed” their societies, and market access and the improvement of infrastructure are the two key areas these countries should focus on, President Museveni, CHOGM Chairperson–in–Office says.

Speaking at Marlborough House on 11 March 2008, President Museveni explained that various members of the Commonwealth can be placed into three categories in terms of development -- those whose societies had undergone a total social metamorphosis by the time the second world war began; those who started their journey to transformation once the second world war ended; and countries who are still in the process of transformation.

It is this last category of countries, President Museveni argued, which need to increase understanding of what stimulates social and economic development.

“Partial transformation is not good for individual countries or the Commonwealth. We should not have a Commonwealth where the wealth is not common,” he observed.

Some developing countries are losing out on jobs and investment because of the current distortion in trading practices,in favour of developed countries he said. These Commonwealth countries must “metamorphose” into “transformed societies” through the help of the international community sharing their tried and tested methods, as well as the establishment of a “fair multilateral trading system”.

At their biennial meeting in Uganda last year, Commonwealth Heads of Government issued a declaration on the theme of the meeting, 'Transforming societies to achieve political, economic and human development'. It stated that member countries must be allowed to benefit from the “foundations of economic transformation”.

“We therefore attach importance and priority to efforts aimed at sharing experiences and best practice, as well as technology and assistance between Commonwealth countries,” says the declaration by Heads of Government.

President Museveni said that elaborating and implementing this declaration would be a priority for his tenure as CHOGM Chairperson–in-Office, a position he will hold until the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, in November 2009.