Give a brief background of European Union-Uganda relations? The European Union and Uganda have partnered in development for more than four decades now since the start of diplomatic relations in 1975. What started as a bilateral relation in development cooperation has since developed into a relationship that covers nearly all the areas of human endeavour. It is a relationship of equal partners who are working together to counter our collective global challenges; climate change, peace and security, migration, job creation, economic growth, human development and many others. Uganda is a relevant and key player on the global stage and we count on our continued partnership based on an open dialogue and mutual respect. What are key areas of the EU's development cooperation in Uganda? Our development cooperation with Uganda is designed together with our Ugandan partners to offer support in key areas, which have been jointly agreed. The main instrument of this cooperation is the European Development Fund, dedicating the sum of 558 million Euros (Shs2.3 trillion) to Uganda until 2020 covering support to sustainable development, good governance and the inclusive green economy. It is important to recognise that our support is in the form of grants, which come without any obligations for repayment or interest or strings attached as some would like to say. In many ways, this represents a true mark of trust and partnership. We are also leading the support to Uganda's refugee response through programmes run by the EU Delegation. But, together with our Member States,...

East African exports to the rest of the continent could be boosted by almost $1bn by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), according to the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). The office for Eastern Africa of the ECA also said the AfCFTA could create between 500,000 and 1.9m jobs. Source: Supply Management

The African continental free trade area (AfCFTA) is among the most momentous of developments in trade. Signed by 52 African states, it is by number of participating countries the largest trade agreement since the formation of the World Trade Organisation. It occurs not just in an international climate of aversion to free trade, notably with stalemate at the WTO and bellicose US trade policy, but also in a climate in which trade agreements just don’t seem possible. Many negotiations have been drawn out and time consuming, often languishing without ever entering into force. These include – but are not limited to – the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, Free Trade Area of the Americas, Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, the European Union’s economic partnership agreements, and the tripartite free trade area. The AfCFTA is different. Despite capacity constraints and the diversity of their countries, African negotiators have worked industriously and effectively. This is an important moment for Africa. The AfCFTA consolidates progressively 55 fragmented African countries into a market of 1.3 billion people with a combined GDP of $2.3 trillion, roughly the size of the India. Research at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa forecasts it to have the potential to boost intra-African trade by between 50 per cent-100 per cent, depending on the extent to which non-tariff barriers are also reduced. It has been driven by firm political commitment. The threshold number of country ratifications required for the agreement was reached within one year, a pace of ratifications that...

EAST African Community (EAC) Deputy Secretary General in charge of Productive and Social Sectors, Mr Christophe Bazivamo, has said the EAC draft Investment Policy, currently under consideration by the Council of Ministers, envisages a transformed upper middleincome EAC that is a competitive common investment area. The EAC official told participants of an EAC –facilitation, liberalisation and protection of cross-border investment. “Partner states are to streamline and simplify administrative procedures related to investments, promote and maintain dialogue with the private sector and exchange business information,” said Mr Bazivamo. He further disclosed that the EAC had at the regional level, through the Consultative Dialogue Framework, developed an open channel where the private sector, civil society and other interest groups interface with the Secretary General. Mr Bazivamo reaffirmed the Secretariat’s role in advocating for a better and conducive climate investment in the region. “I take this opportunity to thank our partners Afrika Verein and EABC for continued good working relationship and request for further collaboration in supporting the private sector, to achieve the business goals and promote the region as an ideal place to invest and do business,” he added. On his part, East African Business Council (EABC) Executive Director Mr Peter Mathuki was optimistic that if Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) which hindered trade within the EAC Common Market are removed, the domestic demand and market of over 150 million people from the six EAC partner states will attract investments from Germany and all over the world as it will be more economically viable...

African countries have a better chance to benefit from the digital revolution through collaborating as opposed to working as separate entities, Heads of State attending the Transform Africa Summit have said. The summit, which opened in Kigali yesterday, was attended by Presidents Paul Kagame, Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta of Mali. Speaking at the opening of the two-day summit, President Kagame said that collaboration was a sure way to navigate through the complex global dynamics in regards to the digital agenda. He said that it would be wise to steer away from the tendencies that have often divided the continent. “Africa can only protect our peoples’ interests and increase the size of our market, through integration and cooperation,” he said. As a united front, Kagame said that the cooperation could be best exhibited in aspects such as harmonising laws and regulation as well as joint efforts in availing infrastructure resources. “This is especially the case when it comes to harmonising laws and regulations, and ensuring that Africa’s ICT infrastructure is managed in a sensible way,” he said. The emergence of a common African agenda on ICTs, he said, should not be a source of worry to anyone as it benefits both Africa and its partners globally. The President added that with the African Continental Free Trade Area now in force, the continent ought to keep industrialisation and technology agendas in close alignment to make the best of both trends. Kagame also challenged the youth and other stakeholders...

The second Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2020) scheduled to take place in Kigali, Rwanda from Septem1 to 7th 2020 will target the execution of Intra-African trade deals worth more than $40 billion, President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Prof. Benedict Oramah announced on Wednesday. Prof. Oramah was speaking in Kigali at the signing of the hosting agreement for IATF2020 by the Government of Rwanda, Afreximbank and the African Union. Minister of Trade and Industry of Rwanda, Soraya Hakuziyaremye signed for the Government while Prof. Oramah signed for Afreximbank and Amb. Albert Muchanga, Commissioner for Trade and Industry of the African Union, signed for the organisation during the ceremony held at the Transform Africa Summit taking place in Kigali Oramah said that for IATF2020, which is being organized by Afreximbank in collaboration with the African Union and hosted by Rwanda, the partners had set themselves the ambitious target of attracting more than 1,000 exhibitors and hosting over 10,000 buyers and conference participants from over 50 countries. According to him, the trade fair will build on the tremendous progress made in the first Intra-African Trade Fair held in Cairo in 2018 to achieve more far-reaching results in terms of impact in promoting Intra-African trade. Oramah who noted that “52 countries have signed the AfCFTA and 22 have ratified it, paving the way for the agreement to enter into force”, said that IAATF2020 would include an IATF Trade and Investment Forum which will look at the practical challenges affecting AfCFTA implementation and provide solutions on...

With Africa’s digital economy taking off exponentially, the continent must ready itself to maximize the potential dividends of the Continental Free Trade Area agreement, panel members told a packed auditorium in Kigali at the opening of Transform Africa Summit 2019 on Tuesday. Key to this effort will be connectivity, data and digitization and innovation among others, conference attendees heard. “Africa can achieve a digital single market...It is a journey and we need to break it up into doable bits, “African Development Bank Vice-president, Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialization Pierre Guislain, said, adding that the European Union had demonstrated that it could be achieved. Other members of the panel Lacina Kone, Director General / CEO of Smart Africa, the conference organizers, Fatoumata Ba, CEO Janngo, Nic Rudnick, CEO Liquid Telecom Group and Elsie Kanza, Head of Africa, World Economic Forum, shared similar sentiments. This year’s summit which is themed Boosting Africa’s Digital Economy, aims to showcase success stories in the African digital economy and promote homegrown businesses, innovations, solutions and partnerships. In a special intervention from the audience, World Bank Digital Director Dr. Boutheina Guermazi said: “ICT and digital literacy is not a luxury. It is an integral part of how we view development,” adding that the foundations of the digital economy - connectivity, data and voice, would depend on a fully integrated digital infrastructure. With the ratification of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area, the possibility of new markets offer tantalizing new avenues for tech start-ups and e-businesses and a combined GDP of...

President Paul Kagame has challenged African countries to think about issues that make hike the cost of services in Africa while also allowing the rest of the world to inspect the continent. The issues have a lot to see with lack of opening up to each other among the African countries. At Transform Africa summit taking place in Kigali, Kagame was on a panel of discussion alongside his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta and Malian Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. He said that in this era of digital economy, Africa has been remaining behind, which should not be an option, and, at a time the continent is talking about transformation, it is high time for Africa “to build the necessary infrastructure and skills in Africa.” This infrastructure however, should go hand in hand with an idea of African togetherness. “Collaboration is the only way for us to navigate successfully, through the complex global dynamics we have to face,” Kagame said. On this collaboration and opening up to each other, Kagame brought out a case of airspace in Africa whereby countries fail to break barriers, at the expense of the passengers. “When flying from Rwanda, why would we have to go through Poland, Brussels to make it to Bamako? One must keep asking themselves the rationale,” Kagame said adding, that it can make sense of from Kigali, someone makes a stopover in Nairobi before transiting to Bamako, but going all that far is too much. It is the same thing with telecommunication. Earlier in...

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa has launched an online seed label verification system which will see all local seed in member states countries sell those branded with the trading bloc’s logo, in order to shield farmers from fake and uncertified products that had flooded the market. The launch, through the Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa Seed Programme, also scored another first by introducing Comesa Regional Certificates to be issued by national seed authorities. This is also expected to boost seed trade in the 21 countries. Speaking at the Comesa Secretariat, the pedigree global strategy director, Selorm Branttie said the seed labels and certificates will promote the use of genuine seed and eventual elimination of fake seed from circulation. “This is the first time that seed certificates and verification will be done electronically, and the farmer will be able to trace the source of the seed and authenticity of the seed without difficulty,’’ Mr Branttie added. During the two-day training for seed companies on ordering, use and trading using the Comesa seed labels and certificates Mr Branttie emphasised need to eliminate the trade and use of fake seed saying it has greatly contributed to the poor performance of 80 million smallholder farmers and food insecurity in the Comesa region. According to the statement, the online seed verification system is a region wide initiative to harmonise trade in certified seed by having one common label and certification system where for every seed package that will...

East Africa’s apex body representing businesses in the bloc EABC,have co-organised a dialogue seeking to create business synergies in various sectors while showcasing the EAC as an ideal business destination for trade and investment. The dialogue dubbed the East African Community-German Business and Investment Expert Dialogue which was also organized by the German-African Business Association at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. The Executive Director of the East African Business Council, Mr Peter Mathuki said it is with no doubt that if all Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) hindering trade within the  EAC Common Market  are removed, the domestic demand and market of over 150 million people from the six EAC partner states will attract  investments from Germany and all over the world as it will be more economically viable for all Investors to invest in the EAC. In his remarks read by EABC Manager Policy and Standards, Mr. Lamech Wesonga, Mathuki said EABC  will continue to ensure that the agenda of the Private Sector is well articulated and received by the policymakers in order to promote a business environment conducive to business formation, growth, expansion. Addressing the forum on behalf of the EAC Secretary General, Amb Liberat Mfumukeko, the Deputy Secretary General in charge of Productive and Social Sectors, Hon. Christophe Bazivamo, said the draft EAC Investment Policy which is currently under consideration by the Council of Ministers, envisages a transformed upper middle-income EAC that is a competitive common investment area with a more liberal, predictable and transparent investment environment. Mr...