The Uganda-European Union Business Forum (UEUBF) kicked off Tuesday at Speke Resort Hotel in Munyonyo, Kampala.

The two-day high-level summit is aimed at facilitating structured collaboration between European and Ugandan private sector and public actors.

It is also the largest and most influential joint Uganda-EU event on doing business and investing in Uganda.

This third edition is running under the theme 'Boosting trade and investments', with the sub-theme being 'What can Uganda gain from global gateway?'.

In the leadup to the meeting, Morrison Rwakakamba, the chairman of the board of directors at Uganda Investment Authority (UIA), said that over 1,000 potential investors from the EU are expected to attend and that match-making with Ugandan investors had been going on.

According to UIA, the forum is designed to mobilize investments into Uganda and strengthen its exports, contributing to its partnership with the EU, a bloc of 27 member states.

Rwakakamba noted that the business relations between Africa and Europe date back to 600 years ago where Africa exchanged valuable ivory, gold and other minerals for low-value manufactured products such as glass and mirrors.

“This has fundamentally changed. Now Uganda exports more ($800 million/sh3.1 trillion) to the EU than it imports ($700 million (sh2.7 trillion). The business forum will deepen this trade balance trend as we seek to attract more EU investors to bolster value addition and export readiness for coffee, pharma, electronics, minerals, tourism, edible oils, etc,” he said late last month (February 20).

L-R: H.E Jan Sadek, EU ambassador to Uganda, Hon.Francis Mwebesa, Minister of Trade Industry and Cooperatives with Hon.Matia Kasaija the finance minister

What EU ambassador says

In January this year, Jan Sadek, the Head of the EU Delegation to Uganda, applauded Uganda for maintaining a positive trade balance with the EU. 

Jan Sadek and Matia Kasaija

Sadek said the EU remains committed to supporting Ugandan entrepreneurs in reaching what he described as a very lucrative EU market.

He made the remarks at the official opening of the East African Trade and Investment Forum in Kampala on January 16.

Hon.Francis Mwebesa, Minister of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives officiating at the opening ceremony

The EU countries include Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

Visiting the exhibition

In October 2022, Sadek said the EU pledged more sizeable and broad support to Uganda after noting President Yoweri Museveni’s encouragement to European businesses and investors to come to the Pearl of Africa.

📷More photos from  the event 

L-R: Finance minister Maria Kasaija, EU ambassador Jan Sadek, trade, industry and cooperatives minister Francis Mwebesa and Myriam Ferran,EU Deputy Director-General for International partnerships touring the exhibition