Uganda heads into the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Week with the Roosevelt Africa Trail emerging as one of its key platforms for pursuing trade, investment, tourism and technology partnerships with the United States.
The initiative comes ahead of the Trade Over Aid Deals Showcase scheduled for September 25 in New York, where participating governments, US companies, financial institutions and international organisations are expected to explore commercial transactions, including potential deals, Letters of Intent and Memoranda of Understanding. The showcase is also expected to launch a deals section of the Trade Over Aid digital library, targeting high-impact projects, including those valued at $50 million and above.
For Uganda, the engagement is not a first appearance in the initiative. The country was among the participants when Trade Over Aid was launched at the New York Stock Exchange on April 27, 2026, represented by then Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Adonia Ayebare, now Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The US initiative brings governments, businesses and international institutions together around trade, investment and private-sector partnerships, with its stated emphasis on building productive capacity and mutually beneficial commercial relationships.
Uganda’s participation has gained another dimension through the Roosevelt Africa Trail, which links the 1909–1910 African expedition of former US President Theodore Roosevelt to contemporary opportunities in tourism, conservation, trade, investment and technology across Uganda, Kenya and South Sudan.
On September 10, Uganda’s Permanent Mission to the UN and the Roosevelt Africa Trail convened the Shared Heritage, Shared Opportunity” engagement in New York, bringing together stakeholders from Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan and the United States.
The discussions sought to move the Roosevelt connection beyond history and heritage towards practical economic opportunities. Tourism infrastructure, agriculture, conservation, technology, heritage development and access to US markets have emerged among the areas being explored.
A significant signal came from US Representative to the UN Economic and Social Council Ambassador Dan Negrea, who indicated support for developing the Roosevelt Africa Trail as an entry in the emerging Trade Over Aid deals framework. Subsequent engagements have continued to examine possible investment, financing, technology and market-access opportunities.
The Trail draws on Roosevelt’s journey through East Africa, with its Ugandan story incorporating destinations and landscapes associated with his expedition, including Buganda, Bunyoro, Murchison Falls and the wider Nile corridor. The initiative describes the modern Trail as a platform linking heritage tourism with conservation, trade, investment and community development.
The timing has also coincided with the opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, North Dakota, which opened to the public on July 4. The 96,000-square-foot facility was developed around Roosevelt’s legacy and has become another potential point of connection between his American and African history.
For Uganda, the proposition is to use that shared history to create a complementary African tourism and heritage experience while connecting it to wider commercial opportunities.
The potential economic links stretch beyond tourism. Investment in accommodation, transport, conservation and visitor infrastructure could create opportunities for Ugandan contractors and service providers, while agricultural partnerships could connect producers and processors to US markets. Technology and heritage projects could similarly create opportunities for digital firms, researchers and creative industries.
However, the proposed projects remain at different stages, and potential partnerships should not be treated as secured investments until formal agreements, financing and implementation arrangements are concluded.
The September 25 Deals Showcase provides Uganda another opportunity to present commercially viable projects and connect them with US investors, companies and financial institutions. Uganda’s participation in Trade Over Aid began at the NYSE in April. The Roosevelt Africa Trail has since added a distinctive heritage and tourism dimension to that engagement. The focus now turns to translating the growing diplomatic and commercial conversations into formal agreements, investment and projects on the ground.