Uganda is ready to tradeoff it’s food and milk in exchange for medical supplies from Cuba under batter trade arrangement -this website has learnt.
The proposal for a potential deal under this arrangement came up during an engagement between President Yoweri Museveni and the outgoing Cuban Ambassador to Uganda H.E. Antonio Luis Izaguirre on Wednesday in Kampala.
The meeting was for H.E. Antonio Luis Izaguirre to inform the president that his tour of duty to Uganda has come to an end.
During the engagements, the Cuban Ambassador informed President Museveni that Cuba has so far manufactured 3 Covid 19 vaccines that are undergoing approval and over 20 million people in his country have been vaccinated against the Covid 19 pandemic. He added that they were preparing to administer the booster dose to their people.
Izaguirre proposed that Cuba could sell Covid 19 vaccines and other medicines to Uganda and in exchange receives the goods it needs from Uganda which the country produces in surplus.
“I hear that some people want to bring vaccines here but we can sell you vaccines and may be you can come up with powdered milk… you have a lot of milk, a lot of food of good quality..” H.E. Antonio Luis Izaguirre said.
In response, president Museveni agreed with the proposal affirming that Uganda has the required items in surplus and ready for such an arrangement.
“Brief us on your needs in agricultural products so that we may sell to you. I agree with you over the proposal of trade between Uganda and Cuba,”
He said this should be done as soon as possible since it will also boost production and benefit farmers who have for long struggled with uncertainties in markets for their products.
“You tell the Ambassador (incoming) what Cuba needs in terms of food, then government can buy from the farmers and get something from Cuba like medicine..” President Museveni said.
In July this year, Cuba’s national regulatory agency approved the Abdala vaccine, making the island nation the first Latin American country to develop a successful covid-19 vaccine. The Center for State Control of Medicines, Equipment and Medical Devices reports that Abdala is 92% efficacious after three doses.
Cuba also produces Soberana 02 jabs which has been shown to be more than 90 percent effective at preventing symptomatic Covid-19 cases.
Cuba’s success has been attributed to its huge army of healthcare professionals who have played a vital role at home. Cuba has more physicians per head than anywhere else in the world and dispatched 2000 of them abroad to stabilize collapsing hospitals in countries like Italy.
Museveni revealed that soon Uganda would open its Embassy in Havana, Cuba. He briefed the envoy on the progress that Uganda has recorded in efforts to manufacture the Covid -19 vaccine.
The meeting was attended by state minister for Foreign Affairs Henry Okello Oryem and few other dignitaries.