On Monday, July 24, 2024, Pope Francis commended Uganda for welcoming refugees. This was during a meeting with Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Robinah Nabbanja at the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace during her visit to Italy.
According to Matteo Bruni, the Director of the Holy See Press Office, the encounter lasted around 25 minutes, during which the Pope and the prime minister discussed various issues.
Bruni said that the Pope commended Uganda for welcoming refugees not only from Africa but also from Central Asian countries.
“Among the topics covered during the conversation, the Pope was touched by the welcome generously extended by Ugandan institutions to migrants and refugees, not only from the African region but as far as Central Asian countries,” he said.
He said Pope Francis and Nabbanja also engaged in the customary exchange of gifts.
The Pope gave Uganda’s prime minister a bronze statue representing a dove carrying an olive branch in its beak. The statue bears the inscription, “Be messengers of peace”.
He also offered Ms. Nabbanja copies of several papal documents, including the Pope’s message for this year’s World Day of Peace, the Document on Human Fraternity, and a book on the Statio Orbis on March 27, 2020, published by the Vatican’s Publishing House.
According to the UNHCR report, Uganda hosts over 1.5 million refugees and asylum seekers, many of whom hail from South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, and Somalia.
The Prime Minister is in Italy to represent Uganda during the European Corporate Council on Africa and the Middle East Annual Summit.