Uganda eyeing commercial diplomacy with Turkiye

By Hamza Kyeyune

KAMPALA, Uganda (AA) - Ugandan Foreign Affairs Minister Gen. Haji Abubaker Jeje Odongo expressed his gratitude for the increased trade and investment opportunities created by the Turkish Business Community in Uganda.

“The Turkish leadership has shown a willingness to share the Turkish model of development with us, based on the principles of mutual respect, mutual benefit, reciprocity and common prosperity,” he said. “Uganda attaches great importance to these principles and existing cordial relations that have grown over the years and culminated into the establishment of an Honorary Consulate in Istanbul, one of the leading cities in the world and very strategic to international commerce, and another consulate in Antalya, to promote bilateral interests.”

Odongo said Uganda is known as the “Pearl of Africa” and endowed with fertile soils and abundant natural resources with high potential in Turkish markets such as coffee, tea, handicrafts and processed fruits, among others

“I am confident that with excellent relations, greater volumes of business and trade between our countries will continue to flourish. For more than 50 years of our diplomatic ties, we have had very good and mutually beneficial cooperation in military, education, economic, cultural and technological areas and this has offered crucial consolidation of our partnership,” he said.

Odongo noted that many Ugandans prefer Turkey as their destination for education, tourism, trade and investment and work, and attributed it to mutual declarations accepted in two Turkey-Africa summits under the Joint Implementation Plans accepted and signed by participants.

Turkiye's presence in Uganda is growing, contractors are carrying out major development initiatives in the public and private high-tech infrastructure.

Notably, Turkish company Polat Yol Yapi won a civil works contract to upgrade the 92-kilometer (57-mile) Muyembe–Nakapiripirit road, which will link Uganda to neighboring Kenya, South Sudan and Ethiopia.

“It’s my intention to promote increased bilateral relations between both Uganda and Turkiye to develop meaningful and mutually sustainable, economic and cultural relations between our two countries,” Istanbul Honorary Consul Levent Serdar Dervisoglu told Anadolu Agency.

“The consulate will provide guidance and information related to obtaining documents, services, investments or any other request about the two countries, and this will further deepen the already existing cordial relation between our two brotherly nations,” he added.

Ambassador to Uganda Fikret Kerem Alp said Turkiye aspires to close the development gap between the two countries.

"Our desire is to see Uganda prosper in all spheres of development, our trade volume with Uganda increased to $71 million in 2021 from $63 million in 2020, total trade reached $71 million with Turkish exports up 26% and Ugandan exports up 418% so far this year. We continue to widen the market base and share our development models and we hope to realize shared prosperity,” he said.

Alp has been spearheading a major diplomatic and business drive in Uganda, helping Turkish investors break into the market.

In two months, he coordinated the establishment of two Ugandan consulates in Turkiye that will act as a one-stop center for Turkish investors, looking at Uganda as their investment destination.