Dr. Ahmad Kawesa Sengendo has been elected and sworn-in as assistant secretary general in charge of Economic Affairs of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in a statement.
The statement says Sengendo was sworn in on November 28 during the 47th Session of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs held in Niamey, Niger.
Uganda's delegation to the Council of Ministers meeting was led by Okello Oryem, the minister of State for Foreign Affairs in charge of International Affairs.
He was accompanied by Ambassador Patrick Mugoya, the permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Amb. Isaac Sebulime, Uganda's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and OIC, among others.
Dr. Sengendo replaces the late Amb. Ahmed Senyomo who passed away on September 11 before completing his term of office, and will hold that post until 2024.
Dr. Ahmed Sengendo’s election comes on the heels of the recent election of eminent Ugandans to different international organizations.
Justice Julia Sebutinde won to become a judge at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Bemanya Twebaze (executive secretary, African Regional Intellectual Property Organization), Amb. Solomon Rutega (secretary general, Inter-Africa Coffee Organization, IACO) and Caroline Nalwanga Magambo (member, Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, ACABQ).
“These appointments, spearheaded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, are part of the deliberate Government's efforts to place Ugandans in senior positions in regional and international organizations,” reads the statement.
Prior to his election, Dr. Sengendo served as the Rector of the Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU) for 16 years.
As a Rector, he spearheaded the growth and expansion of IUIU from its humble beginning to its current four compasses in Mbale, Kibuli, Kabojja and Arua.
IUIU is an affiliate institution established by the OIC to provide education opportunities for the youths of Africa.