President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni on Tuesday 21st January 2025 met a high-level delegation from Emirates Airlines who paid a courtesy call on him at State House, Entebbe.
The delegation, led by the Emirates Country Manager for Uganda, Mr Mohamed Ahmed Taher, and accompanied by the Emirates Station Manager, Ms Maureen Kabure, included Emirates officials selected from different countries who are on a trip to Uganda to identify “must-visit areas of tourist attraction” to be marketed to the world as Emirates Airlines prepares to celebrate its 25 years of operations in Uganda.
The officials included Van Ty Trinh from Vietnam, Eddie Sutadharma from Indonesia, Lydia Liu and Paules Chen from Taiwan, Pramod Rane and Manoj Chaudhari from India and Hani Abdullah from Kuwait.
Others were Shawn Selwyn Dias from Bahrain, Melki Jihed from the United Arab Emirates and Alexandra Lee Schumann from the United Kingdom.
President Museveni warmly welcomed the delegation to Uganda, highlighting the uniqueness of the country’s beautiful climate, which he attributed to its location on the Equator.
“There are about 3 countries in the whole world that have a unique climate because of the altitude and because they are on the Equator and Uganda is one of them. Some areas in Uganda are over 1,000 meters above sea level and some are below 5,000 meters above sea level and have permanent snow. The other country that has the same climate I think is Ecuador in South America,” he said.
One of the delegates asked why Uganda has the best coffee in the world. President Museveni attributed it to the favourable climate on the Equator, which supports the growth of organic crops, including coffee and fruits like pineapples.
“I went to Washington, and they brought something like pineapple fruits, when I put it in my mouth it had a very sour taste. Uganda has sweet pineapples. If you want good food and good climate, you are in the right place,” he assured the Emirates delegation.
Additionally, President Museveni encouraged members of the delegation to visit all areas of tourist attraction in Uganda, citing the National Parks and many others.
The meeting was also attended by the Minister of State for Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, Hon. Bahinduka Mugarra Martin, the Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities Ms. Doreen Katusiime, the Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Bagiire Vincent Waiswa and Uganda’s Ambassador to the UAE, H.E Zaake W. Kibedi.
They were also accompanied by Ambassador Elly Kamahungye from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, officials from the Uganda Embassy in UAE, Erina Zalwango and Daniel Wadada, and officials from the Uganda Tourism Board, Pearl Houreau Kakooza, Lilly Ajarova, and Daniel Irunga.