President Yoweri Museveni has told Foreign Countries to focus on conducting business with Uganda rather than giving out aid to the East African country.
The president made the request on Tuesday while meeting the Nordic ambassadors and heads of missions to Uganda, from Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Iceland at State House Entebbe.
The parties discussed a number of issues of mutual interest like education, health, agriculture, energy, manufacturing and transport.
According to Museveni, all the discussed aspects should be approached from the angle of business, rather than aid, to maximize the benefit for all stakeholders involved.
“Uganda can benefit from the technological advancements of our Nordic friends through partnerships in these sectors, while they tap into our rich natural and human resource,” he said.
“As an example, a KCCA partnership with a company like Scania, could check the chaos in urban transport, reducing on congestion, while providing an affordable alternative. Of course, if the buses are assembled or fabricated here, we would have the advantage of jobs and skills for our children.”
Museveni also advised Uganda’s partners to concentrate on value addition of agriculture as opposed to production, because “Our land ownership system may be difficult for outsiders to maneuver, or obtain land through government.”
