President Museveni has left the country for Asian country, Vietnam where he is expected to attend the first ever Uganda-Vietnam business summit and trade exhibition.
The summit is scheduled to start today will run until November 26 2022, at the Hilton Opera in Hanoi, Vietnam, under the theme “Unlocking investment opportunities.”
The president will also hold talks with his Vietnamese counterpart, Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
“Whilst there, he will hold official talks with President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc and also witness the signing of agreements between the two countries among other engagements,” Senior Presidential Press Secretary, Sandor Walusimbi said on Wednesday.
The summit
According to King Ceasor Augustus Mulenga, the Honorary Consul of Vietnam in Uganda said the summit will be another opportunity for both countries to bolster relations.
“Vietnam is near China but is blessed just like Uganda. Whereas the products produced by both countries are same, Vietnam is ahead of Uganda in terms of value addition to their products. The summit is an opportunity for Uganda to tap into this expertise in adding value to products,”Mulenga said.
He cited an example of coffee that has become one of Vietnam’s key agricultural export products with 95 percent of output being shipped abroad but noted all their exports have value added on it, contrary to what happens in Uganda.
The Vietnamese Honorary to Consul to Uganda noted that the summit will be an opportunity for Ugandans to borrow a leaf from the good practices by Vietnam.
“Vietnam adds value to its products which fetch high prices but also the country follows international standards but this lacks here. The summit is therefore an opportunity for Uganda to copy some of these best practices. In a period of 20 years ago, Vietnam was just like Uganda but they have moved ahead quickly because of industrialization. The summit will provide a unique platform for the business community, investors, financial institutions, and the public sector to create closer cooperation in economics, trade, investment, financial banking services and tourism. The summit will provide a learning space for engagement on how they can diversify in key priority sectors in the agriculture sector.”
The summit is organised by the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) and Uganda Investment Authority in partnership with the ministries of trade, industry, and foreign affairs in collaboration with the Vietnam government.
According to the Uganda Investment Authority, the summit and trade exhibition is meant to help accelerate Uganda-Vietnam trade and bilateral relationships to enable close business engagement between the business communities and attract investment into the country.
The exhibition will run concurrently with the business summit and will provide a platform for the public sector, private sector, and financial institutions to engage and interact with potential investors and partners that will, in the long run, boost trade between the two countries.
Trade
The UN COMTRADE estimates that the total trade between Uganda and Vietnam was at US$49.2 (imports) and US$9.34 million (exports) in 2022.
Uganda’s main exports to Vietnam include edible fruits, nuts, peels of citrus fruits, melons coffee while she imports textiles, electronics, and electrical equipment
