The second EU-Uganda Business Forum has attracted over 1500 participants from different countries in the world, up from 600 delegates who attended the pioneer one of 2020.
The forum also saw an organization of 13 panel of discussions and five workshops entailed to exchanging the use of business opportunities in key sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, industrialization and ICT, signing of memorandums and the launch of the private sector – led Corruption Reporting Facility (CRF) while looking forward to the next slated in October 2023.
The two days event came at a time when Uganda’s total trade with EU countries have increased from €707m in 2009 to €893m in 2019 registering a 26% increase.
This places EU as the second largest market especially from the agricultural products like coffee that accounts for 70% and 26% for fish
Sadek thus urged the European investors to deeply focus on understanding Uganda’s business climate and its investment environment as a key role to help them seize all opportunities in the country
While Officiating the closure, Rt. Maj. Jessica Alupo, the Vice President asked Ugandans to use this time to enhance and strengthen partnership with European investors.
She noted that the government was now keen on not only attracting more investments from that side but also encouraging the ugandan community to take advantage, expand partnerships and deepen access to the EU market while improving ways of working together.
“Our philosophy is to provide a one stock center to investors across all government ministries departments and agencies , ease the business environment and reduce the cost of doing business,”she said.
Likewise, Jan Sadek, the Chairperson of the European Union urged all the EU member States to make use of all the momentum earned in the two days’ Uganda EU business forum and seize the investment opportunities therein.
Sadek said that the main objective of the forum was to ensure that EU’s commitment to developing Uganda as number one destination for European investment was emphasized to the core and that the fact that Uganda was ready for business strongly elaborated.
“I trust that by this time you have acknowledge to this objective, a number of times we have shown our determination towards this objective and now the union is working towards prioritizing digitization and green economy to foster growth especially for the young people and small businesses in Uganda,” Sadek alluded.
Adding that with this, she was now more than convinced of the enormous opportunities that still needed to be en-clasped to foster trade and investment between Uganda and EU even beyond the Forum
Being one of the biggest open markets in the world and first in East Africa, Uganda’s large continental market access supported by access to external markets under special agreements with over 6000 products eligible for EU markets under EU and US Africa growth and opportunity Act and quarter free and tax free access to all products to in the EU placed her among the most lucrative investment destinations in the world.
Speaking at the same function, Dr. Elly Karuhanga the Chairperson of the Private Sector Foundation of Uganda (PSFU) said that working with the EU was not only the most righteous decision to make but also a turning point for Uganda’s private sector to foster amazing changes.
For more than 70 years, he said that EU has provided prosperity, goods and services then he was more than certain that together the platform was to enhance the underdeveloped economic diplomacy agenda for Uganda , bring in the much needed European Investment Bank , the national stake holders , structured dialogue, attract renewed investment and promote climate friendly and sustainable business thus creating social economic development for the country.
Dr. Karuhanga further said that with the right Skills and attitude , governance , strength and investment plus the access to finance they were on an unstoppable match and thus determined to make the European investment plant develop and define the national economic business platform over the next years.
“This is a major breakthrough, the first sustainable business in Uganda as an African country and the first of its kind for the European Union to shift gear and work with the private sector,” Karuhanga stressed.
