Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa has called for stronger international cooperation and reforms in global governance, warning that conflicts, geopolitical tensions and organised crime are undermining international security and development.
Tayebwa said developing countries, particularly in Africa, need fairer global partnerships, increased development financing and stronger multilateral institutions to address emerging security and economic challenges.
He made the remarks while chairing a joint parliamentary session of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the European Union (EU) in Brussels, Belgium, where he serves as President of the OACPS Parliamentary Assembly.
Addressing parliamentarians from Africa, the Caribbean, the Pacific and Europe, Tayebwa said security and development were interconnected, arguing that conflicts destroy livelihoods, disrupt public services and divert resources from national development priorities.
He cited Uganda’s refugee-hosting policy as an example of the burden developing countries carry in responding to global humanitarian crises.
Tayebwa said Uganda hosts more than two million refugees, mainly from neighbouring countries, but receives only 12.5 per cent of the funding required to support them.
He reaffirmed Uganda’s commitment to keeping its borders open to people fleeing conflict.
“The country would not abandon those seeking protection despite the financial pressure associated with hosting refugees,”he said.
The Deputy Speaker urged legislators from both regions to promote dialogue, support mediation efforts and hold their respective governments accountable for commitments towards conflict prevention and sustainable peace.
The discussions, held under the theme Global Security and Multilateralism in a Highly Interconnected, Multipolar and Fragmented World, also focused on the need to reform international financial institutions and strengthen the voice of developing countries in global decision-making.
Sheema Municipality MP Dickson Kateshumbwa called for reforms in global financial governance, improved debt sustainability and increased development financing to strengthen developing economies.
Kateshumbwa warned that economic insecurity, unemployment and limited opportunities could expose vulnerable young people to recruitment into armed conflicts.
Former Chadian Foreign Affairs Minister and former United Nations envoy Mohamed Saleh Annadif described the OACPS-EU partnership as an example of how international cooperation could evolve through mutual trust and respect.
Annadif urged the international community to recognise Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific as important global actors capable of contributing to solutions to shared challenges rather than treating them merely as areas of geopolitical influence.
Zimbabwean delegate Lieutenant General Michael Reuben Nyambuya also called for renewed support for multilateral institutions, particularly the United Nations, describing them as essential to maintaining international peace and security.
The parliamentarians said global challenges required inclusive international cooperation and partnerships based on mutual benefit, with developing countries given a meaningful role in shaping policies that affect them.
The OACPS-EU parliamentary engagement brings together legislators from the two blocs to discuss shared political, economic, security and development priorities.