Africa-Press – Uganda. The Ministry of Finance has pledged continued support to Uganda’s diplomatic missions in Africa, urging them to prioritise economic results as government pushes forward with its ambitious tenfold growth strategy.
Speaking at a three-day Mid-Term Review Meeting of Uganda’s embassies accredited to African countries, Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury at the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Bagiire Vincent Waiswa, tasked missions to deliver measurable economic value over the next five years.
The meeting, held from February 22 to 24 at Bamburi Beach Hotel in Mombasa, brought together heads of mission to assess progress on the implementation of Uganda’s Economic and Commercial Diplomacy (ECD) Strategy.
Bagiire said foreign missions must go beyond traditional political engagement and actively contribute to export growth, investment attraction, tourism promotion, technological partnerships and market intelligence gathering.
“Foreign missions must produce economic value by growing exports, attracting investments, driving tourism numbers and fostering technology partnerships,” he said.
The ECD Strategy, officially launched in Gulu in August 2025, is jointly implemented by the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
It serves as an operational tool to guide Uganda’s missions in aligning diplomacy with the government’s economic transformation agenda.
Under the joint leadership of the two ministries, Bagiire revealed that an ECD hub and a secretariat have been established at Foreign Affairs and Finance respectively to strengthen research capabilities and ensure quality assurance of data used by missions.
Information collected abroad will feed directly into the hub’s operations to enhance evidence-based decision-making.
He also emphasised the need for in-house capacity building through an Inter-Ministerial Committee co-chaired by the Permanent Secretary of Foreign Affairs and the PSST.
“Foreign Service Officers are to have direct experience at relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies to understand products, processes and priorities, enabling informed marketing of Uganda’s offerings in their countries of accreditation,” Bagiire said.
Also attending the meeting was Ramathan Ggoobi, Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury, who stressed that Uganda’s missions abroad must operate as economic engines for transformative growth rather than mere political outposts.
Ggoobi described the mid-term review as an “investment decision exercise” rather than a compliance check.
“We are asking three questions: Which missions are generating economic outcomes on the continent? What practices are working? And what must change immediately?” he said.
“Where performance exists, it will be scaled. Where constraints exist, they will be fixed. And where efforts exist but no results are seen, they will be redesigned.”
He further urged missions to leverage opportunities under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which provides access to a market valued at approximately $3 trillion and a population of 1.5 billion people.
“Our comparative advantage lies first in Africa and then the rest of the world. Each mission must evaluate every engagement through one filter: Does this effort create market access for Uganda?” Ggoobi said.
By the close of the first day’s deliberations, participants had identified four key focus areas: setting clear commercial targets, prioritising specific sectors, identifying concrete investors and buyers, and developing fundable and measurable work plans.
The Ministry of Finance reaffirmed its commitment to support missions in achieving these objectives, while urging them to align strategy with execution.
Officials said if Uganda successfully integrates diplomacy with commerce and ensures disciplined implementation, the country could realise significant economic gains within the next 15 years.
