Inside the Uganda, Algeria trade and investment efforts ahead of summit

The state minister for trade, Harriet Ntabazi, has confirmed the country will host the Uganda-Algeria Trade and Investment Forum on September 30 in the capital Kampala.

According to Ntabazi, the business forum will mark a critical step in propelling Uganda-Algeria investment and trade relations and “fostering the intra-African trade which is still weak and standing at no more than 16% of the continent’s global trade.”

The summit will be spearheaded by the Presidential Advisory Committee on Export and Industrialisation (PACEID) and the ministries of trade and foreign affairs together with a number of companies.

PACEID said in a statement more than 60 Algerian companies dealing in agri-food, leather, poultry equipment, textile, electrical appliances, railway and steel processing among others, have already confirmed their participation.

Cherif Oualid, the Ambassador of Algeria to Uganda said both countries have a huge potential to harness for the mutual benefit of their respective peoples.

“They are both endowed with tremendous natural resources waiting to be tapped,” Oualid said.

PACEID Chairman Odrek Rwabwogo reiterated the need to have a Buyer-Seller Session during the business forum to match-make with focus on various sectors.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Trade, Geraldine Ssali, urged the Ugandan business community not to squander this opportunity as Algeria offers big opportunities of offtake in trade. 

Olive Kigongo, the President of the Uganda National Chamber of Commerce announced that a deal with their counterparts in Algeria will be signed on sidelines of the summit.

Deals and discussions between Uganda, Algeria

According to PACEID, Uganda and Algeria are already working on the several developments to facilitate trade between the two countries.

So far, there has been ratification of concluded Agreements and MoUs in the fields of Agriculture, Animal Health, Tourism, Trade, Energy, Higher Education and Scientific Research.

Furthermore, Algeria has agreed to grant Ugandan powdered milk tax free access to its market estimated at U$500m.

Uganda and Algeria already initiated discussions to have a Preferential Trade Arrangement to be agreed upon to allow both countries to import and export selected products (Milk and Coffee) directly and free of levies.

A Bilateral Air Services Agreement has been concluded to facilitate direct air linkage between Uganda and Algeria to ease trade.

Bilateral cooperation in the field education as one of the strategies of consolidating Uganda’s Human Resource Development efforts with an additional 500 scholarships in progress.

The establishment of an Algeria-Uganda Business Council through conclusion of an MOU between the respective Chambers of Commerce and Industry will be concluded soon.

Finally, there has been the establishment of a Cooperation Framework between the respective National of Investment Promotion Agencies for facilitation and promotion of bilateral cooperation in Investment matters.

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