Minister Of Lands, Housing and Urban Development Judith Nabakooba shared investment opportunities that the business fraternities in Bujumbura and Kampala can tap into to expand trade between both countries.
The Minister was Wednesday speaking at the opening of The Uganda – Burundi Business Forum and below is her full speech:
I bring you greetings from Francis Mwebesa, the Minister of Trade, Industry ad Cooperatives, who was unable to be here due to other engagements and requested me to represent him.
Before I start my speech, I need to mention to you that we have lost our Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Jacob L’Okori Oulanyah, a distinguished son and leader in Uganda, on Sunday this week. I therefore request to honour him with a minute of silence I welcome you to this Burundi – Uganda Business Forum, the first of its kind to be held between our two countries. In a special way, I wish to welcome the business delegation that has traveled from Kampala to participate in this Forum.
I want to start by expressing my gratitude to the organizers of this Forum, for taking the initiative to do it at a very short notice. The Federal Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Burundi and the Private Sector Foundation Uganda, have been very instrumental in putting this event together, coordinated by their respective Ministries of Foreign Affairs.
I also wish to acknowledge the very critical role that has been played by the Indian Association of Uganda in making this Forum take place. Distinguished Participants, as you may be already aware, Uganda and Burundi have a long history of business and trade. it has been mostly informal and done by individuals or firms who on their own, identified markets for their businesses or sources of the goods and services in each other’s countries. Business between Uganda and Burundi has been oscillating over the years.
Sometimes it registers significant growth and at other times registers decline, depending on the prevailing situation in the two countries and the region. In the recent past, the political situations in the countries, regional security and political realities as well as the recent Covid-19 pandemic, have all in one way or the other negatively affected business between Uganda and Burundi. Despite these challenges, there has been resilience on the side of the business community, to continued business even during the tough times.
This means that if deliberate actions and efforts are made by both governments,, then the business could thrive much more. Distinguished Participants, according to statistics, Uganda’s exported to Burundi goods worth 82 million USD in 2009 and grew to 92 million USD in 2012. Imports from Burundi were valued at 0.8 million USD in 2009 but grew to 2.8 million in 2012. By 2021, Uganda’s exports to Burundi were estimated at over USD 50 million having increased from USD 37.03 in 2019.
I am glad that there is visible presence of several business firms from both Uganda and Burundi in each other’s markets. Besides trade, I implore you to focus on investments in agro-processing, consumer goods, steel and cement for construction of both houses and infrastructural development.
Both countries still a deficit in housing and infrastructural development. Distinguished Participants, The potential for business between Uganda and Burundi is very big. Both countries are potential markets and sources of goods for each other and export to the rest of the world.
Both Burundi and Uganda share borders with the Democratic Republic of Congo, which itself is very big market. Please take full advantage of the benefits of the recent developments in DR Congo as it joins the East African Community.
Distinguished Participants, both governments of Burundi and Uganda are fully committed to assisting the private sector to grow the business partnerships between the two countries to help ease, identify and resolve challenges of trade through comprehensive agreements under the Joint Permanent Commission (JPC) that is on-going as we talk now Kiriri Garden Hotel.
These two events were preceded by the official commissioning of the Uganda Embassy Chancery in Bujumbura, where the Special Envoy Ruhakana Rugunda and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation of the Republic of Burundi, who emphasized the role played by the private sector in development.
You may recall that in May 2021, during the visit of President Evariste Ndayishimiye to Uganda, he and his host President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni reiterated this commitment and gave instructions to their respective governments to do all that’s s possible to assist the private sector grow trade and investments.
Therefore, there is strong goodwill from the leadership in both countries to grow trade and investment relations, and governments will do their best to support you by creating an enabling business environment as well as address infrastructural and bureaucratic challenges still hindering development. Currently, there are prevailing factors which the business community can take advantage of.
The availability of direct flights between Entebbe and Bujumbura is a good incentive for business. Distinguished Participants, I therefore implore the business persons assembled here to utilise this forum and the two governments’ goodwill to grow trade and investments between our two countries. Please use this forum to strengthen your business contacts, explore markets and investment opportunities and challenges for Governments to be able to address those that need policy decisions.
Once again I thank the organisers of this Forum and you the participants, and I must say that we in Government we are looking up to you as the engines of development. Play your roles and we shall play ours. Colleague Minister, Thank you very much for your warm welcome and hospitality accorded to Uganda delegation to the Business Forum.
We welcome you to Uganda for a similar engagement at an opportune time to be arranged through the normal diplomatic channels. Hon. Minister and dear participants, I thank you for your attention and I wish you fruitful deliberations in this Forum.