Uganda’s Consistency and commitment to Private Sector Development is legendary and unrivalled making Uganda a fully liberalized economy, Ambassador Oliver Wonekha has said.
She was Tuesday addressing the Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion Conference held in Shandong in celebration of the 60 years of diplomatic relations between Uganda and China.
According to her, the conference will give the Ugandan Embassy a priceless opportunity to interact with prospective Chinese investors and the Business community wishing to do business with Uganda; and interest them in making a decision to invest in Uganda.
Uganda and China have enjoyed warm and cordial relations since 1962.
Out of the cordial relations for the past 60 years have come tangible outcomes like Education Scholarships, and projects implemented in various Sectors of Uganda’s Economy like Agriculture, Construction, Infrastructure, ICT etc.
Shandong Province’s economy has a well-developed oil and Petrochemical industry, Agriculture including cotton and Textile production, Machine Tools Production and Tourism Sector.
“It is on this basis that the Embassy seeks to further strengthen the already existing strategic relationship with Shandong province in mutually beneficial areas including Trade, Agriculture, the Petrochemical industry, Tourism, Manufacturing, Power and Infrastructure and Capacity Building,” said Amb Wonekha.
“Uganda seeks to explore ways to pursue economic and Trade cooperation on a win-win basis, which will include but not be limited to; increased trade, access to markets, the attraction of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), technology and skills transfer, People to people exchanges among others from the People’s Republic of China into Uganda.”
She cited a need for renewed focus to further increase the profitable execution of Uganda’s abundant investment potential and highly encouraged Chinese investors to advantage of this and invest in Uganda to make huge profits.
“Since a detailed presentation is to be made, let me just outline for you some of the few reasons why you should rush to invest in Uganda for maximum benefit: a) Uganda has grown itself to be a highly stable country over the past 30 years, b) According to the latest data sets from the World Bank, Uganda has one of the lowest crime rates and most stable inflation rate in East Africa – averaging 4.89%.”
She went on: “c) Uganda is the Most open Economy to FDI within the EAC, d) According to benchmarks from Financial Times Limited, Uganda has an excellent working and living environment) Uganda Has a robust young and trainable population, f) Uganda’s electricity costs are competitive at 80% of Kenya’s costs, g) Property costs in Uganda are competitive with industrial shed monthly rents in the range of $4-6 per square metre, h) Large and growing domestic market of nearly 45 Million people, strategically located in the heart of Africa with a combined market of the population of over 700 million in the EAC and COMESA region and i) Globally, Uganda has a competitive tax incentive regime.”
She concluded: “It is, therefore, my wish that we work committedly to enhance the partnership between the Chinese and Ugandan Business community for the mutual benefit of our two peoples. I sincerely invite companies and business people from Shandong to explore doing business in and with Uganda for maximum gain.”
The conference was attended by Mr. Li Yongsen, Deputy Director-General of Shandong Foreign Affairs Office, the Leadership of the China Chamber for Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) of Shandong, the Leadership of Donying City, Prospective Investors and the Business Community.
