UGANDA: Prime Minister Robina Nabbanja Meets With Pope Francis at the Vatican
Pope Francis with Uganda delegates
Sr Sarah Muhindo BS
Uganda’s Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, on July 25th 2023, met with Pope Francis at the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace. The encounter lasted around 25 minutes and saw the Pope together with the Prime Minister discuss various issues, according to Matteo Bruni, the Director of the Holy See Press Office.
In the meeting with Ms. Nabbanja, the Pope is reported to have lauded Uganda for her open embrace and support to refugees, and asked world leaders to promote peace to reduce the burden of refugees.
More so during the cordial discussions, in the Secretariat of State, the good relations between the Holy See and Uganda were evoked, emphasizing the role played by the Catholic Church in the country. It was a favorable opportunity to discuss matters of common interest and to exchange views on the situation in the region.
“Today I had the privilege of meeting with his holiness Pope Francis in Italy where I earlier gave a keynote address at the European Corporate Council on Africa and the Middle East Annual Summit. His Holiness the Pope commended our Country for hosting refugees and asked world leaders to promote Peace to reduce the burden of refugees,” Nabbanja tweeted.
As of 2022, Uganda is the largest refugee-hosting country in Africa and the fourth largest in the world. Uganda is home to over 1.5 million refugees—a substantial number for a country of forty-five million. Most of the refugees in Uganda come from South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, and Burundi.
