By: Ismael Kasooha

NAIROBI

Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja has urged countries and International Development Organisations that currently operate in Uganda from Nairobi, but have no physical presence in the country, to establish offices in Kampala.

“Your Excellencies, opening embassies and High Commissions in Kampala will foster better collaboration and strengthen partnerships between our countries,” she said at a meeting with diplomats and representatives of global development agencies and businesses at Serena Hotel in Nairobi on Wednesday.  “We believe that supervision of the programmes supported by your governments and organisations is very costly and inefficient when you operate from outside Uganda,” she emphasized.

Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja (seated 4th right) in a photo with Ugandan Ministers of State, Diplomats and representatives of UN agencies and International Development Organisations in Nairobi on Wednesday.

The Premier added that opening offices in Uganda would help governments and development institutions implement their programmes in a more efficient and cost-effective manner. She informed the diplomats that in 2023, Uganda launched a Tenfold Growth Strategy to expand the size of the economy from $50.3 billion to $500 billion by 2040. It is now estimated to have reached $61.3 billion.

“To achieve the above objective, the Government intends to implement a number of transformative projects and programmes that will require a huge amount of financial resources in the form of concessional and semi-commercial loans,” Nabbanja said.  “Provision of semi-commercial loans provides an opportunity for your countries to increase exports through export credit agencies.  We therefore urge your governments to collaborate with us on these co-beneficial strategies,” she added.

The Prime Minister was in Kenya on a two-day working visit aimed at engaging diplomatic missions and development institutions that are non-resident in Uganda but serve the country from Nairobi.

She travelled with the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Henry Okello Oryem; the Minister of State for Finance, Amos Lugoloobi; the Minister of State for Internal Affairs, Gen. David Muhoozi; Deputy Attorney General, Jackson Kafuuzi; the Director General of the Uganda Investment Authority, Robert Mukiza; the Chairperson of the National Planning Authority, Prof. Pamela Mbabazi, and other technical officials.

The engagement was facilitated by the Ugandan government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).  Representatives from the diplomatic missions of Brazil, Australia, Finland, Indonesia, Thailand, Romania, and the Philippines, based in Kenya, as well as development institutions and businesses, including the European Investment Bank and Google, attended the meeting.

During the meeting, Lugoloobi highlighted to the Development Partners the numerous investment opportunities in Uganda. “Uganda is the best investment destination in Africa, and when you come, the mutual benefits are enormous,” he said.

Gen. Muhoozi assured the participants of a secure environment. “Our country is very secure, and your safety is guaranteed,” he said.

Meanwhile, Oryem stressed that, “Uganda is an open country to all partners, and we are ready to cooperate with whoever expresses interest in working with us. We are very friendly and hospitable.”

The UNDP representative in Uganda, Nwanne Vwede-Obahor, reiterated UNDP’s commitment to foster collaboration for the country’s development.

END