In a statement posted on his X (formerly Twitter) account on Thursday, Mr Museveni branded the World Bank as "shallow and insufferable imperialist actors who do not know where to stop".

Last week, the World Bank suspended funding to Uganda because of a controversial anti-homosexuality law passed in May, which contradicted World Bank’s values.

The law has drawn global criticism for its harshness, including penalties of imprisonment or death for individuals who engage in certain same-sex acts.

In response to the World Bank last week, Mr Museveni accused it of trying to coerce Uganda to reverse the law by halting funding, but added that Uganda would continue to develop even without the World Bank’s support.

On Thursday, Mr Museveni reiterated that the withdrawn funding would not deter Uganda’s economic transformation. He added that World Bank’s drastic move would, in fact, aid Uganda’s bid to reduce external debt and become more self-reliant.

Mr Museveni said Uganda still has several Western allies, but said they were intimidated about continuing support for Uganda.