Uganda becomes the first East African country to join the BRICS, which comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, blocks of which it first joined as a partner member country in the recently concluded BRICS summit in Russia and is set to fully join as a fully-fledged member come December 2024.
Uganda joining BRICS serves as a game changer that will actualize and reaffirm President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s ideology of diversifying Uganda’s economic alliances, unlike in the past, where Uganda would only rely on the monopolized alliances of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.
The BRICS alliance is soft landing to gain new markets for Ugandan agricultural products and raw materials, given the present early stages of oil exploration and first production set for 2025.
As a member of the East African Community (EAC), Uganda stands on the forefront to gain strategic foresight to open Uganda’s economic pathways, such as infrastructure development, and increase global popularity to boost tourism.
Our once-pronounced British protectorate will be positioned as a key global stage player, increase cross-border trade, and regional integrations will ease access to alternate financial systems such as cross-border payment systems and digital currencies, all of which will reduce reliance on western dominance and controlled financial systems.
Additionally, the alliance is a clear indication that, as a country, it’s adopting a new policy focusing on creating new partnerships, which is a clear signal to the western countries that if they don’t stop interfering in Uganda’s internal issues, they’re bound to start new partnerships with other countries under BRICS, which are likely not to snooze their noses in the local affairs of their partners and respect each member with equal rights.
Coincidentally, the BRICS poses as the epitome of Uganda’s independence, and through the set of reforms to introduce a new gold-backed currency, Uganda holds leverage since it baskets vast natural resources, specifically gold, uranium, oil, and many others, which makes it a valuable member of the BRICS.
With the advent of BRICS and the history of Uganda’s Western-leaning economy, it is possible that Uganda is headed for a massive economic shift away from the dollar-oriented norm and paving the way to stronger local and international grip.
