President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has spoken out strongly against pressure from Western countries following Uganda’s passing of the anti-homosexuality law. He said Uganda is not afraid of sanctions or suspension of loans and will continue growing its economy and building its future with or without external support.

The President made these remarks while delivering a keynote address at the 11th Session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD), held at Speke Resort Munyonyo. He spoke to African leaders, diplomats, and development partners about the journey of Uganda’s economy and the importance of regional integration for Africa’s progress.

Museveni addressed recent actions by the United States and the World Bank.

“With the Europeans recently, we passed a law which was discouraging homosexuality here. Then Mr. Biden removed us from their goal list. He chased us!” he said, drawing laughter and applause from the audience.

He went on to say that while the World Bank also stopped lending money to Uganda, the country still recorded strong economic performance.

“And the World Bank? They stopped giving us loans. But guess what? Our economy still grew by six percent. We are not bothered with all that,” he said.

President Museveni described how Uganda had come from a damaged economy under Idi Amin to one that is now becoming more advanced and self-reliant. He shared the different phases Uganda’s economy has gone through, from relying on a few cash crops and minerals to now producing vaccines and even cars.

“From the enclave economy of the 3Ts and 3Cs, Tea, Tobacco, Tourism, Coffee, Cotton, Copper, we’ve moved to recovery, diversification, and now, we’re building an economy of knowledge. We’re making vaccines. We’re making cars,” Museveni said.

But he made it clear that real success would only come if African countries stopped working in isolation and began building stronger connections across borders.

“What is crucial for me, apart from our own mistakes, is regional integration,” he said. “If we are clear about the regional market, nothing from outside will shake us.”

He then presented a bold vision for job creation on the continent, pointing out Uganda’s potential in agriculture.

“Uganda has 40 million acres suitable for agriculture. If we use just 7 million acres and each person creates 7 jobs, that’s over 100 million jobs. And that’s not even counting industry, ICT, and services,” the President said.

Museveni also challenged Africans to change their mindset and stop clinging to outdated systems that no longer serve development goals.

“We must go from pre-industrial to industrial societies. How can we have a peasant producing another peasant? The peasant must disappear, we need other classes,” he stressed.

He concluded his speech with a strong call for African unity as the key to independence, growth, and power.

“Everything we can do and will do depends on African integration. That is our superpower.”

The forum, has brought together heads of state, former presidents, policymakers, experts, and global delegates, focuses on reviewing Africa’s progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Agenda 2063, Africa’s master plan for transforming the continent into a global powerhouse of the future.