The Transitional President of the Gabon Republic, Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema and the First Lady of Gabon, Mrs Zita Oligui Nguema,  have visited several industrial establishments in Uganda.

On Friday afternoon, President Nguema in the company of the First Lady, Mrs. Zita Nguema toured at Luwero Industries Complex. 

They were hosted by the Managing Director of the National Enterprise Corporation (NEC), Lt. Gen. James Mugira and the General Manager of Luwero Industries, Maj. Gen Sabiiti Muzeyi. 

The guests toured the Pro-Heli International Services Limited whose operations include: repair, maintenance, overhaul and upgrade of helicopters.

Gabon's Prsident Brice Oligui Nguema and delegation inspecting some of the military helicopters being worked on at Nakasongola during his tour of the facilities on Friday.

President Nguema was later taken to the armoured vehicle manufacturing plant where his team inspected armoured vehicles and boats.

Maj. Gen. Sabiiti briefed the guests on the activities and operations of the industry whose spectrum also covers civilian sectors. 

Lt. Gen. Mugira told the guests that the corporation is a commercial and business arm of the Ministry of Defence.

The objective of the entity, he added is to foster self-reliance and build the local capacity to exploit the natural resources for strategic security.

“For the strategic security of the black race and the spirit of Pan-Africanism as brothers and sisters, there is a need to explore the abundant opportunities in order to cooperate and collaborate in the defence sector including supporting the growth and development of each other's defence Industries,” he stressed. 

Lt. Gen. Mugira, therefore,  rooted for the ending of defence dependency syndrome from the outside world but to bolster the local capacity by manufacturing defence equipment within African nations to guarantee their sovereignty and true Independence. 

President Nguema's entourage at NEC included: the Minister of Defense and Veteran Affairs Hon. Jacob Oboth-Oboth and the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development Judith Nabakooba.

On Thursday, 1st August, the Gabon delegation toured Fine Spinners Uganda Limited factory, located at Spring Road, Kiswa Zone in Bugolobi, Kampala City.

They were received by the Chairman of the Textile company, Jaswinder Bedi and his son who is also the Chief Executive Officer of the factory, Sav Bedi. 

They were conducted on a guided tour of the production line 
which has: spinning, weaving and knitting processes of different products such as: T-shirts, all types of dresses for both children and women, men’s wear as well as uniforms for various entities, among others.

Fine Spinners Uganda Limited are manufacturers of sustainable, traceable cotton textiles and garments from Ugandan high-quality cotton.

According to a State House release, President Nguema who commended President Yoweri Museveni's campaign on value addition on raw materials, expressed his wish to collaborate with the government of Uganda to promote more value addition projects for the benefit of the people of the two nations.

“I am very impressed by what we have seen at this factory. To transform a product from its initial form is very impressive. I wish to form a partnership with the government of Uganda in adding value to our products,” he remarked at the end of the tour of the plant.

According to Bedi, the Bugolobi factory employs over 1,500 people who mainly receive their training on the job.

 Most of the products are exported to Europe Asia and different African countries.  

The economy of Gabon, a country with a population of over 2.4 million people, is largely dependent on agriculture, forestry, minerals, oil and tourism.

At the end of the tour, President Nguema expressed gratitude to President Museveni and the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Mrs Janet Museveni, the government and the people of Uganda for the warm welcome extended to his delegation.

He described his visit as fruitful, saying that during his stay he discussed with his host a wide range of issues pertaining to the mutual interest of Gabon and Uganda.

Nguema reiterated his call for the deepening of close cooperation and collaboration between the two countries in areas of health, agriculture, military and many other fields.

After the NEC  tour, President Nguema on Friday evening departed for Gabon.