President Yoweri Museveni is rooting for stronger trade and development relations with Canada, urging Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to encourage investors and to re-establish and strengthen their partnerships for mutually beneficial relationships.
The President was meeting PM Trudeau on the sidelines of the 72nd, session of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN Headquarters in New York.
Museveni called for more cooperation between the two countries and urged Canada to ensure market access for Uganda products and boost trade and investment.
“We should revive and strengthen our former cooperation. Canada was initially in the mining, infrastructure and transport sectors. They can also invest in energy,” he said.
The President congratulated Trudeau upon his election as Prime Minister of Canada.
PM Trudeau hailed President Museveni and the people of Uganda for hosting refugees. He hailed Uganda’s refugees policy and said the world should emulate Uganda in the way they handle refugees.
“Uganda has a very good record of assisting refugees. It is a great example of what the rest of the world can pick from,” he said.
He also agreed with the President on strengthening trade and investment between the two countries.
Canada’s engagement with Uganda supports human rights, democratic governance, and effective service provision for the people of Uganda.
Uganda plays a key security role in the region and is the largest troop contributor to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). Canada, in collaboration with the Netherlands, contributed over $10 million in equipment and training to support the deployment of a formed police unit (FPU) from Uganda to Somalia to assist AMISOM in 2010.
In 2013, two-way merchandise trade totaled $28.1 million consisting of $23.4 million in exports to, and $4.7 million in imports from, Uganda. Top Canadian merchandise exports to Uganda included textiles, machinery and equipment while top Canadian merchandise imports from Uganda were primarily coffee, fish, live trees, and cocoa.
On the investment side, Canadian interests and activities are concentrated primarily in the mining and infrastructure (power generation and transportation) sectors.
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