Queen Elizabeth II in Uganda to attend the Commonwealth meeting
Posted by African Press International on November 22, 2007
Kampala (Uganda) Queen Elizabeth II on her official visit to preside over the Commonwealth Heads of State meeting in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, on Wednesday tasked the extraordinary session of Parliamentarians to protect and uphold democracy.
She said the deliberations and decisions of the House, together with its respect for the rule of law will have an essential bearing on the country’s success in addressing many serious issues.
In her short speech, Queen Elizabeth hailed Uganda for its role in establishing peace and security in the region. She specifically paid tribute to the work of Uganda’s soldiers who are serving in the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia. .
President Yoweri Museveni and his wife attended the Parliamentary session, which was part of the Queen’s whirlwind visit to Uganda.
Last night, executives from Uganda’s media industry were hosted to a cocktail with the Queen.
The queen arrived at Serena Hotel shortly after 8 p.m. and interacted with about 70 media executives for nearly half an hour. The atmosphere at the cocktail was noticeably relaxed, with only a handful of plain clothed British security officers and no photography allowed in the room.
The Queen shook hands with about half of the group, taking a minute to ask each guest’s name, what they do and making comments about the country. In one such comment she said she was surprised by how much development had taken place in Kampala city since her last visit more than half a century ago.
Tonight a State Banquet will be held in honor of the queen at the newly-refurbished State House in Entebbe.
Published by Korir, API/APN africanpress@chello.no tel +47 932 99 739 or +47 6300 2525 source.apa
