Africa-Press – Uganda. The Japanese government on Monday celebrated 60 years of diplomatic and bilateral relations with Uganda, with calls to increase cooperation in form of trade and technology transfer.
Speaking at the reception in Nakasero to mark the diamond jubilee, Japanese Ambassador Fukuzawa Hidemoto said Japan has been part of Uganda’s journey since independence.
“For much of this time, Japan has been one of Uganda’s leading development partners. In the past 10 years, a number of projects have been achieved, including the Nile Bridge. Over the next years, we have an earnest desire to strengthen this relationship further,” he said.
Trade between Uganda and the far-east Asian country has been rising and falling, with Kampala exports averaging at $12.1m in 2020 while Tokyo exports stood at $189m. The trade was ostensibly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2018, Japanese exports to Uganda stood at $316m, mainly steel, machinery, and vehicles while Uganda exports stood at $18.20m of mainly fish, coffee, and other foodstuffs.
Ambassador Hidemoto said capacity building, human resource development and people-to-people exchanges are the main highlights of the bilateral relations.
Japan engages Africa, through among others, the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) summits, which was launched in 1993.
The summit was previously held every five years until TICAD V in 2013 when the duration was shortened to three years. From TICAD VI in 2016, the conference is held alternately in Japan and Africa.
At the last TICAD-VII summit in August 2019, three pillars were adopted; society, economy, peace and security.
The pillars were coalesced into five key priority areas for Uganda, including infrastructure, such as Nile Bridge, Kampala Flyover and power to build basic economy, support refugee responses and host communities.
This was done through JICA, UN Agencies and NGOs in Northern Uganda to increase income in rural areas through increasing rice production with new breeds of rice cultivated at NACRRI in Namulonge, and education and health through three regional referral hospitals.
The next TICAD-VIII summit, which is co-convened with the African Union, UNDP, and World Bank, is due next month in the Tunisian capital, Tunis and it will be attended by more than a dozen heads of state and ministers.
“Now, we have another important event to celebrate. Today is the 1,000 days before the opening of Osaka Kansai Expo to be held in Japan in 2025. I am quite sure that you recall the very success of Uganda in Dubai Expo, developing business partnerships, expanding markets for Uganda and showcasing the best of Uganda. The next Expo will be in Japan and it is a great opportunity for Uganda to tap into not only Japanese market, but also into the wider Asian market,” Ambassador Hidemoto said.
Some 126 countries and eight international organisations have confirmed attendance.
The chief guest, Mr James Baba, who served as the ambassador to Japan between 2001 and 2005, extolled the relations between the two countries.
He also expressed gratitude to Tokyo for helping Uganda realise its development aspirations, especially infrastructure development.
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