President Museveni woos Arab investors to Uganda

President Yoweri Museveni used his time at the sidelines of the ongoing 4th Global Business Forum on Africa to reach out to various investors based in Dubai, urging them to exploit the great investment opportunities Uganda and the region offers to do business with the continent.

“Since you are business people, we must be talking about profits. When you talk of Uganda and Africa, you are talking about peace as an enabling environment; which we have. We have raw materials, and have a population of 40 million people that’s’ a market. And if we talk of integration we have a four tear market,” the President said at a meeting he held at his residence at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Dubai.

The President said the four tier market includes that of Uganda, East Africa, COMESA with a combined market of  600million people and the whole of Africa with a market of 1.3 billion people.

“In Africa, the demand is there and growing because we have been under-consuming while the rest of the world the demand is falling because they have been over consuming,” he said

President Yoweri Museveni was yesterday meeting various UAE investors and CEOs of leading companies including America’s Business Council based in Dubai, Emerson with interest in Oil and Gas, Ernest and Young, Norton Rose Fulbright among others

President Museveni  encouraged  them to invest in Uganda citing Peace and stability, infrastructure development especially electricity, roads and railway lines which he said it is a stimuli for investments.

“There are plenty of raw materials, minerals, tourism and so on so when you invest there you have access to all these” he added.

The President said investors enjoy a number of policy incentives such as tax holidays, VAT incentives among others .

“I don’t have to bother investors with taxes, what I want is for them to invest, use our raw materials, create jobs, add value and promote exports,” he said.

The business group expressed interests in investing in Uganda especially in areas of Oil and Gas, Agro processing, Tourism among others.

The President was accompanied by Uganda’s Energy Minister  Hon. Eng. Irene Muloni, that of Tourism Ephraim Kamuntu, State Minister for Investment and Privatization, Hon. Anite Evelyn and Ambassador Nimisha Madhvani among others.

Source: STATE HOUSE

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Kamuntu also advised Ugandans to have a drastic shift in their mindset if the nation is to avert the negative effects of Climate Change

The post Ugandans cautioned to conserve their environment first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

Parliament declined to approve the budget because it wanted further explanations from the Ministry of Finance regarding expenditures during the summit.

Africa Union flag

The Summit that will bring together all African countries that make up the African Union will take place next month.

The Minister of Finance in charge of Planning Ephraim Kamuntu told journalists at Uganda Parliament today that his ministry will soon give a detailed explanation to parliament regarding the expenditures of next month’s African Union summit.

He says his ministry will meet with the Parliamentary Committee on Finance, Planning and Economic Development next week to ensure a timely approval.

The 2007 CHOGM summit in Uganda was marred by corruption with top government ministers implicated for swindling billions of Uganda taxpayer’s money meant for organizing the summit

By Tiberindwa Zakaria

Ultimate Media

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