By Moses Mulondo and Billy Rwothungeyo
The Government of Mauritius has promised to give jobs to Ugandan professionals in the sector of information and communication technology (ICT) as one of its initiatives for improving partnership with Uganda.
Addressing a press conference with Ugandan trade minister Amelia Kyambadde at the Media Centre , the Mauritius minister for trade, commerce and consumer corporation, Cadel Sayed Hossen, said: “We will give employment to Ugandan IT professionals because we have a booming IT sector in Mauritius.”
He, however, could not reveal the available number of opportunities, but promised to establish the exact figures to enable more Ugandans go for them.
Sayed Hossen said his country has resolved to strengthen its partnership with Uganda as one of her key trading partners.
He said the Mauritius government is already working on arrangements to help various Mauritius business companies to come and invest in Uganda.
“There are major companies that are planning to come here and invest in Uganda’s energy and manufacturing sectors as well as other sectors. We shall also share experiences on economic growth,” Sayed said.
Kyambadde, who expressed excitement over the opportunities Mauritius has extended to Uganda, said that the magnitude of trading between the two countries has been increasing in the recent years.
“Our exports to Mauritius have increased from $1.1m in 2005 to $2.7m in 2012, while our imports from Mauritius have increased from $9.2m in 2008 to $9.8m in 2012,” Kyambadde said.
She added that whereas Uganda exports coffee, tea and spices to Mauritius, it imports papers, electronic equipment, beverages and cereals from the country considered to be one of the fastest growing economies in Africa.
Kyambadde said Uganda also greatly benefits in terms of training offered by Mauritius, especially in the area of entrepreneurship.
She said a joint committee has been put in place to examine and provide solutions to the non-tariff barriers as a move aimed at improving the magnitude of trade between the two countries.
Kyambadde and Sayed said this committee will address the existing bottlenecks that are hindering trade between the two countries.
These include standards, customs procedures and international trade promotions.
