Officials from Uganda and Nigeria have held discussions on ways through which the two African countries can improve bilateral trade, investment and tourism.
According to a press statement released here, the meeting took place in Abuja on March 20 and was attended by Nelson Ocheger, Uganda’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, and Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“The two hailed the cordial bilateral relations that exist between Uganda and Nigeria, dating back to pre-Independence years. They underscored the need to scale up this relationship by increasing interactions in business, trade, investment, tourism and knowledge sharing,” a foreign affairs ministry statement said.
Ocheger is said to have reiterated Uganda’s commitment to increasing interactions with Nigeria by creating an enabling environment for the private sector to do business.
Already Uganda Airlines commenced direct flights between Entebbe and Lagos, and plans are in the pipeline to add Abuja to the route.
“The High Commissioner said having direct flights is addressing some of the bottlenecks to doing business between the two countries,” the statement added.
The Minister and the High Commissioner also discussed the progress made to conclude the process of reviewing bilateral agreements between the two countries in different sectors such as energy, oil and gas, defense and security cooperation, education and others.
The ministry said Ocheger had informed his host that “Uganda was ready to host the Joint Permanent Commission (JPC) meetings in Kampala during which various bilateral agreements and MoUs will be signed. To facilitate the participation of the private sector, the 4th Uganda/Nigeria Trade and Business Forum will be held alongside the JPC.”
“The Minister said Nigeria was ready to share her decades-old experience in the Oil and Gas industry with Uganda. He also underscored the need to leverage the developments in the air transport sector and other continental frameworks like the AfCFTA to promote meaningful engagements that enable the private sectors in both countries to thrive,” the ministry said.
“Other areas of cooperation discussed include agro-processing, education and security.”
