Uganda’s Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Zaake W Kibedi, says the East African country can be where the Middle East country currently is in 15 years.
Ambassador Kibedi, who was addressing delegates at the opening of the Fourth Uganda-UAE Business Forum in Kampala on Tuesday, expressed optimism, citing World Bank statistics.
‘The statistics show that in 1970, the economy of the UAE was valued at $686 million, while Uganda’s economy in the same year, was valued at $1.2 billion, meaning Uganda’s economy was bigger than UAE economy in 1970,’ Ambassador Kibedi said on Tuesday.
He added: ‘But now, they (UAE) are at $537 billion; so, when we strengthen this collaboration, then we don’t have to reinvent the will. The ten-fold programme aims at raising Uganda’s economy to $500 billion.’
The Uganda-UAE Business Forum is an annual event organised by the Uganda Embassy, Abu Dhabi and the Uganda Consulate General, Dubai in collaboration with Abu Dhabi Department for Economic Development, Abu Dhabi Chamber and Dubai Chambers to promote investments, trade, tourism innovation and technology transfer.
The inaugural forum in 2022 was held across Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, and Ras Al Khaimah, while the second edition in 2023 took place in Kampala, Uganda. Last year, the third edition returned to Abu Dhabi.
This year’s forum, held in Kampala from October 27-29 under the theme ‘Unlocking Opportunities, Building Bridges through Trade and Investment’, brought together business leaders, private sector representatives, and senior government officials from both countries to strengthen bilateral partnerships in investment, trade, tourism, and innovation, among other areas.
Uganda’s Prime Minister, Ms Robinah Nabanja, while officially opening the summit, said strengthening Uganda-UAE relations is important because it helps to continue a strong bond of economic cooperation and shared vision for sustainable development.
She cited the waiver of Visa requirements between both countries as a ‘great milestone,’ adding that ‘as a result, the UAE has become Uganda’s largest export destination.’
Ms Nabanja described Uganda as ‘the best investment destination in Africa’, highlighting its status as ‘one of the rapidly-growing economies in the world,’ according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
She cited the country’s stable currency, a range of tax and non-tax incentives for investors, fertile soils, abundant fresh water, and favorable weather conditions as key attractions for investment.
Ms Evelyn Anite, the State Minister for Investment and Privatisation, said from the first summit, where we had zero investment between UAE and Uganda, today, we are talking about $3.5b of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) invested in Uganda; these are all by companies in the UAE.
‘Initially, Ugandans didn’t know how to access the UAE market; now, they know, that is why the business-to-business is happening, Ugandan traders are now able to take their products and trade in the UAE,’ Ms Anite said, envisioning that by the tenth edition of this summit, ‘we shall be very far away.’
‘In ten years, if we have been able to grow to 50,000 factories, we must make sure that we continue with the winning policies that we have put in place,’ said Ms Anite.
She added: ‘We project that with oil and gas, having more electricity, and with the tax and nontax incentives that we have in place, we have a projection of another 50,000 industries coming on board.’
In January, President Museveni visited the UAE, and in May, the UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, visited Uganda.
Their meetings led to the signing of six Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) covering sectors including investment protection, works and transport, diplomatic training and capacity building, joint development, digital transformation, and energy.