Nabbanja in Dubai for 3rd Uganda-UAE Business Forum

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Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja is in the United Arab Emirates to officially open the 3rd Uganda-UAE Business Forum on behalf of President Yoweri Museveni.

The forum is organised around the theme: Unlocking New Horizons for Economic Prosperity.

The 3rd Edition of the Uganda-UAE Business Forum, taking place in Dubai is an annual event organised by the Uganda embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Uganda Consulate General in Dubai and is running from October 28-31, 2024.

Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja is in the United Arab Emirates to officially open the 3rd Uganda-UAE Business Forum on behalf of President Yoweri Museveni. (Courtesy photo)

The forum aims to attract foreign direct investment, promote Uganda’s exports to the UAE, encourage tourism, facilitate technology transfers, project a positive image of Uganda, and mobilise the Ugandan Diaspora in the UAE for development.

The first segment of the forum, led by the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce, ended Wednesday, October 30, 2024, at the St Regis Hotel, Abu Dhabi.

The second segment, organised by the Uganda Embassy and Consulate, will take place on Thursday, October 31, 2024, at the Sheraton Grand Hotel, Dubai.

While in Abu Dhabi, Nabbanja, delivered a keynote address to a gathering of government officials, diplomats, academics, policymakers and scholars from the UAE and Africa at the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy.

Nabbanja attended the meeting at the invitation of the Emirati Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Shakhboot Nahyan Al Nahyan.

“Africa has immense potential across various sectors, powered by its young demographic with a sizeable portion of its population under 25. This young workforce can drive innovation and entrepreneurship, creating new markets and industries,” noted Nabbanja, according to a release from her office.

Nabbanja briefed UAE that Africa is also a continent of abundant natural resources, including precious minerals and renewable energy sources such as solar and hydro and possesses vast arable land which can be a key driver of food security and economic development.

“Uganda and UAE have enjoyed cordial relationship anchored on economic and commercial diplomacy serving as the rationale for the opening of the Uganda Embassy in Abu Dhabi in 2009 and later, the Uganda Consulate in Dubai in 2022,” she said.

Nabbanja observed UAE is now one of the leading investors in Uganda having made FDI to the tune of $3b across a spectrum of sectors particularly energy, infrastructure, health care, agri-business, oil and gas, manufacturing, construction, real estate, and tourism,” she said.

Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja is in the United Arab Emirates to officially open the 3rd Uganda-UAE Business Forum on behalf of President Yoweri Museveni. (Courtesy photo)

The Prime Minister also held a separate meeting with Rashed Alblooshi, Under-Secretary, Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development.

According to the PM's office, they discussed extensively areas of economic cooperation and possible foreign direct investment in the agricultural, mineral and aviation sectors.

The Prime Minister was accompanied by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in charge of Regional Cooperation, John Mulimba, who informed Alblooshi that the United Arab Emirates is the number one market for Uganda’s exports in the Middle East and welcomed Foreign Direct Investment from the UAE whose companies have so far invested US$ 3 Billion in Uganda.

The Prime Minister's delegation to the meetings also included the Ambassador of Uganda to the United Arab Emirates Zaake Kibedi, Representative of the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Santa Mary Laker-Kinyera, and Head of Public Diplomacy.