The Minister of Finance Planning and Economic Development Hon Henry Musasizi Aliganyira has reaffirmed Uganda’s commitment to strengthening its partnership with the European Union to attract investment, expand trade, support private-sector growth and accelerate economic transformation.
Minister Musasizi made remarks yesterday while meeting the European Union delegation led by the EU Ambassador to Uganda, His Excellency Jan Sadek and emphasized that Uganda value the European Union’s longstanding partnership with Uganda and look forward to strengthening cooperation that translates into investment, jobs, exports and sustainable economic growth.
The engagement comes as Uganda and the European Union mark 50 years of partnership, with cooperation increasingly moving beyond traditional development assistance towards investment, infrastructure, trade, energy, climate finance and private-sector development.
In his remarks Ambassador Jan Sadek reiterated the European Union commitment to working closely with the Ministry of Finance, which he described as the EU’s primary counterpart for development cooperation.
According to Ambassador Sadek, European Union –Uganda cooperation is centred on sustainable and inclusive growth and jobs, governance and social inclusion, and connectivity, in line with the EU’s Global Gateway strategy.
Under Global Gateway, Team Europe is investing about €1.4 billion in Uganda’s private-sector development with approximately €300 million in grant funding targeting access to finance, skills development, business environment and productive infrastructure.
According to the reports, energy was another key area of discussion, with the rehabilitation of the Nalubaale and Kiira hydropower plants highlighted as a flagship Team Europe initiative.
The project has a €170 million financing package, comprising €30 million in EU grant funding and concessional loans from the European Investment Bank and the French Development Agency and it is intended to extend the life of the strategic renewable energy assets for at least another 30 years.
The meeting also focused on climate finance, including Uganda’s preparedness to issue its first sovereign green bond.
The European Union expressed interest in supporting Uganda’s readiness and exploring how the planned issuance could mobilise international private capital for sustainable investments.
