afrol News,

Uganda is leaving no stone un-turned in forging partnerships for its newly found oil riches. Iran is invited to become a major partner.

This week the Ugandan leadership is expected to seek fresher investment partnerships in Iran, when President Yoweri Museveni hosts Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Ugandan Foreign Affairs officials have confirmed that the Iranian leader will arrive in Kampala on Friday on a two-day state visit, during which he will hold bilateral talks with President Museveni on Iran's interest to invest in the country's oil sector.

The visit by Mr Ahmadinejad follows last year's trip by the Ugandan President to Iran, where the two leaders agreed on launching talks to help Uganda build an oil refinery.

Amongst some of the immediate partnerships was on training of Ugandans on the oil sector in Iran.

Iranians would also be invited to join the construction of a planned oil refinery in Uganda. This comes shortly after China had promised President Museveni to build a refinery.

Uganda has recently discovered huge oil and gas deposits inland, bringing a new promise to the country’s economic health and wealth. The opposition and civil society groups however have complained about an increasing lack of transparency in the Ugandan government's oil dealings.