By: Boy Fidel Leon
The world needs to stop fighting over who’s in charge and start figuring out how to get rich together.
That was the essence of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s message on Wednesday as he addressed the 19th Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement’s Coordinating Bureau at Speke Resort Munyonyo.
The conference, running through October 16, brings together Foreign Ministers from NAM’s 121 member states, plus representatives from the United Nations and African Union.
“Anybody who thinks they should control the world is wasting their time,” Museveni said, warning against what he called the outdated ambitions of hegemonism.
The President, who chairs the movement, pointed to NAM’s founding principle. These were born during the Cold War when nations chose neutrality over picking sides, as proof that the approach works. He credited NAM’s founding leaders for charting a course based on merit, not ideology.
“Our elders said, ‘No, we want to be neutral. We want to judge issues on merit.’ That helped us then, and it is even more important today,” he said.
Instead of domination, Museveni laid out a simpler formula. Focus on what the United Nations. Trade. Investment. Tourism. Mutual support. Where nations disagree, he urged them to lead by example, not by force.
“If you think you are right, show it by doing things properly in your own country so that others learn from you,” he said, invoking a scriptural principle that nations should shine their light, so others see their good deeds.
History backs this up, he argued. The Thirty Years’ War in Europe erupted when religious intolerance took hold. The Austro-Hungarian Empire crumbled trying to suppress the inevitable march of new systems. The Pope lost when he tried to stop Protestantism. Metternich failed when he fought capitalism’s rise.
“You cannot stop the evolution of history,” Museveni said.
On prosperity, his logic was direct: Why wouldn’t you want your business partners to be wealthy? A poor partner buys less. He used China’s economic rise as an example. The country’s growth didn’t threaten Uganda and other developing nations; it made steel and technology cheaper for them.
The same principle applies to Africa, he pressed. If the continent’s GDP per capita climbed to $20,000, Africa’s total GDP would reach roughly $30 trillion. At $25,000, it would hit $45 trillion.
“That would not only make Africa richer but would benefit our trading partners because we would buy more from them,” Museveni said.
To get there, he urged NAM countries to push industrialisation, science, and human development.
Looking around the room packed with delegates, Museveni expressed genuine hope.
“When I look around and see all of us together, I believe we may be the hope of the world,” he said, thanking member states for the trust placed in Uganda’s leadership.
The UN and African Union echoed the sentiment. The representative of UN Secretary-General António Guterres praised Uganda’s stewardship and NAM’s role in fostering dialogue and South-South cooperation.
Ambassador Musa Mohamed Omar, representing the African Union Commission, urged the Global South to stand united in pushing for a fairer world order.
“Those who benefit from the current world order are defending the status quo,” Omar said. “But if we put our efforts in common, we will be able to influence the construction of a new, fairer world order.”
This Midterm Review Meeting builds on the momentum from NAM’s January 2024 summit in Kampala, which drew over 120 member states and observers.
Discussions this week centre on peacebuilding, technology transfer, trade facilitation, and climate resilience.
NAM itself, founded in 1961 in Belgrade by leaders including India’s Jawaharlal Nehru, Yugoslavia’s Josip Broz Tito, Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser, Indonesia’s Sukarno, and Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah, was born from the desire to stay independent during the Cold War.
Today, it stands as the second-largest grouping of nations after the UN, representing over 55% of the global population and two-thirds of UN member states.