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ABU DHABI: President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has this afternoon (Saturday) arrived in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the 2020 Dubai trade Expo. The Expo that will run up to 31st March 2022 was officially opened on 1st October 2021 in Dubai.
On arrival at Abudhabi International Airport, President Museveni was received by H.E Sheikh Shakhboot Nahyan Al-Nahyan the Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of UAE.
Others at the Airport to receive the president were; H.E Abdulla Alshamsi the UAE Ambassador to Uganda, The Foreign Affairs Minister Hon. Gen. JJ Odongo, The Finance Minister Hon. Matia Kasaijja, Amb. Zaake Kibedi, Amb. Henry Mayega, Amb. Arthur Kafeero and the Chief of Protocol Amb. Charles Ssentongo among others.
H.E Sheikh Shakhboot Nahyan Al-Nahyan the Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International cooperation of UAE welcomed President Museveni to UAE and wished him well in all his engagements while in the UAE
Expo 2020 is a World Expo currently hosted by Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, originally scheduled for 20th October 2020 to 10th April 2021. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Expo was rescheduled for 1st October 2021 to 31st March 2022.
Over 192 Countries, Uganda inclusive are participating in this year’s World trade Expo taking place in Dubai for 182 days.
On his three (3) day working visit to United Arab Emirates, President Museveni is expected to meet and have bilateral discussions with the rulers of Dubai, Abudhabi and Sharja.
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REMARKS BY HON. JOHN MULIMBA, MINISTER OF STATE FOR
FOREIGN AFFAIRS/REGIONAL AFFAIRS AT THE MEDIA
BRIEFING ON THE DUBAI EXPO 2020 HELD AT MOFA ON 30TH
SEPTEMBER, 2021 AT 2:00PM
Hon. Minister,
Permanent Secretaries,
Government Officials present,
Members of the press,
Ladies and gentlemen.
It gives me great pleasure to participate in this media briefing on the
Dubai Expo 2020. The Expo will run from 1st October 2021 to 31st
March 2022 in the United Arab Emirates, twelve (12) months from the
scheduled date due to COVID 19 pandemic.
Accordingly, Uganda will join over 190 countries and international
organizations to participate in Expo 2020 Dubai
The Republic of Uganda is participating at this Expo on invitation by
the organizer – the Government of UAE and the International Bureau
of Expositions.
The theme of the Expo 2020 Dubai is “Connecting Minds, Creating the
Future” with three (3) sub-themes of “Mobility”, “Opportunity” and
“Sustainability.” Uganda is participating under the “Opportunity” subtheme.
Uganda’s objectives for participation in Expo 2020 Dubai are;
i) To promote trade between Uganda and the greater Middle East
market which had a total import bill of US$ 1.889 billion in 2020,
initially targeting;
➢ United Arab Emirates;
➢ Saudi Arabia;
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➢ Turkey;
➢ Qatar and;
➢ Oman.
The priority products for promotion during the Expo are the following;
➢ Coffee
➢ Black tea
➢ Cocoa
➢ Fish and fish products (Nile perch and tilapia)
➢ Fruits (avocado, bananas, mangoes and pineapples);
Vegetables and spices including hot pepper (capsicums),
ginger and cardamon
➢ Kidney beans, mung beans and sesame
➢ Dairy products, especially milk powder
➢ Processed food products particularly dried fruits (mango,
pineapple, papaya, and jack fruit)
From our analysis, there is great untapped market potential with
product such as coffee whose current market size is US$ 1.1billion but
Uganda’s market share is only US$ 11million; tea with a market size
of US$ 1.2billion but Uganda’s market share is only US$ 220,000; milk
powder with a market size of 2.85 billion but Uganda’s market share is
only US$ 374,000. Table 1 below shows the full list of target products,
the respective Middle East market size and Uganda’s current market
share.
The Middle East Market is huge, and Uganda stands to gain
significantly by effectively promoting the above products during and
after the Expo, using Dubai as the distribution hub into the greater
Middle East
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We have profiled all the above products, together with their major
exporters, capacity and contact details for dissemination during the
Expo
ii) Attracting investments into the profiled investment projects.
These include:
➢ Fourteen (14) infrastructure projects – including the Rapid
Bus Project, Rehabilitation of the Gulu – Pakwach railway and
development to Inland ports;
➢ Five (5) mining sector projects – including the Bahati Wolfram
project and the Iron and steel processing project;
➢ Five (5) health sector projects – including medical equipment
manufacturing and management center and a specialized
hospital;
➢ Twenty-one (21) agriculture and agro-processing projects –
including establishment of aqua parks, establishment of an
instant soluble coffee plant and a modern cattle abattoir;
➢ Five (5) real estate projects – including Construction of Low
Cost and Medium Cost Housing Kireka Slum Rejuvenation
Project and The Dairy House;
➢ Twelve (12) tourism sector projects – including the Cable Car
Project and Source of the Nile Development Project;
➢ Three (3) energy sector projects – including Geothermal
Exploration and Development at Buranga Prospect and
Kyenjogyera Mini Hydro Power Generation Project;
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➢ Five (5) IT and IT Enabled services project;
➢ Five (5) oil and gas projects – including Uganda Oil Refinery
and East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) Project;
➢ Two (2) industrialization projects – including the Sino-Uganda
Modern Economic Development Special Zone.
iii) Promote Uganda’s tourism (“Destination Uganda”) which has won
international recognition as a premium tourist destination. The
tourism products to be promoted include
➢ Gorilla tracking;
➢ Bird watching;
➢ Mountain hiking especially the Rwenzori Mountains,
➢ Home-stay and;
➢ Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE)
iv) Enhance bilateral relations especially with the organizers, the
Government of UAE
How is Uganda going to participate in the Expo
i. Country Pavilion
With the support of the Government of UAE, Uganda has been offered
a 213 sq. meter 2-floor Pavilion in the Opportunity Thematic District.
This is in line with Expo management’s “One Country, One Pavilion”
policy. The Pavilion will have the country exhibition on the ground floor;
office and conference facilities on the upper floor.
ii. Uganda National Day 3
rd October 2021
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This is the day that has been dedicated to promotion of Uganda by the
Expo management. On this day, there will be an official governmentto-government ceremony in the morning and additional country
promotion programmes in the afternoon. However, the official
ceremony will be restricted to fifty (50) delegates from Uganda and the
UAE respectively in compliance with the COVID-19 SOPs.
The additional country promotion programme will include business
meetings, road-show (flag procession), cultural performances and
food tasting (culinary) experiences.
iii. Tourism, Trade and Investment Forum 5
th October 2021
The National Day activities will also include a Tourism, Trade and
Investment Forum, business-to-business (B2B) and business-togovernment (B2G) networking events on the 5
th October 2021.
iv. The 6-month Country Marketing Programme at Expo and outside
the Expo Grounds in UAE
In view of optimizing our participation and visibility at the Expo and
facilitating consistent engagements between the participating
countries and the private sector in Uganda, a detailed six (6) month
program has been drawn up.
This program includes business delegations; thematic weeks (such as
the Tourism Week from 4th to 10th October 2021);
➢ Single(solo) country exhibitions;
➢ Participation in Expo thematic events (such as the Livelihood
and Agriculture Week in February 2022);
➢ Market scoping activities and working visits to various
businesses across Dubai and neighboring markets.
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What are Uganda’s expected Outcomes
1) Linkages between Ugandan exporters and foreign buyers.
Targeted buyers include:
• Direct importers/distributors in UAE (“by-passing
middlemen”)
• Supply contracts with major UAE retailers already
mentioned
• Specialty coffee importers from emerging markets
• Investors and processors of dairy products (use dairy
products as inputs)
• Direct tea importers
2) Establishment of commercial presence in Dubai
• Marketing office at the Dubai Multi Commodity Center
• Ugandan products on shelves in Carrefour, Lulu and Union
Coop
• Marketing and distribution agents across the Middle East
3) Potential investors undertake exploratory/scoping visits to
Uganda to evaluate identified investment opportunities
4) Increase in tourist bookings for destinations in Uganda.
I therefore call on all Ugandans with potential in the above-mentioned
areas of interest to get in touch with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or
Uganda Export Promotion Board to discuss how they can benefit from
this 6(six) months event in order for Uganda to tap into available
opportunities that the Expo 2020 Dubai.