Africa-Press – Uganda. President Museveni on Tuesday hosted a high-level delegation from the Saudi Arabia at State House, Entebbe, in an investment-focused meeting aimed at strengthening bilateral economic cooperation and unlocking new commercial opportunities between the two countries.
The delegation, led by Ali O. Alswayeh, expressed appreciation to the President for the audience and reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s commitment to expanding investment in Uganda. Agriculture — particularly coffee value addition — was highlighted as a key area of interest for the Kingdom.
President Museveni welcomed the delegation and commended Saudi investors for recognising Uganda’s untapped potential. He noted that although Uganda and Saudi Arabia have maintained cordial relations for many years, economic opportunities between the two nations remain underutilised.
“We have been working together for a long time, but we have not fully engaged to maximise our investment opportunities,” the President said.
Discussions also centred on the Value at Source Coffee Project (VASP), an agro-industrial initiative spearheaded by Nonda Coffee. The project seeks to shift Uganda from exporting raw coffee beans to exporting branded, high-value finished coffee products.
At the heart of the initiative is the proposed Luwero Coffee Park in Luwero District, an integrated industrial complex projected to process 42,000 metric tons of coffee annually and generate an estimated USD 850 million in annual revenue.
The facility is expected to handle the full coffee value chain, including cleaning, grading, roasting, grinding, soluble and specialty coffee production, packaging, branding and export of finished products.
The project is projected to create approximately 1,500 direct jobs and about 3,000 indirect jobs in logistics, retail and related services. It also aims to integrate more than 100,000 coffee farming households into a structured supply chain.
The Saudi market is viewed as a strategic gateway to the broader Middle East, one of the fastest-growing coffee consumption regions globally. Expansion into the market is expected to boost demand for premium Ugandan coffee, strengthen bilateral trade ties and create sustainable downstream markets for farmers.
The meeting underscored a shared commitment to investment-led growth, private sector development and value addition as key drivers of economic transformation.
President Museveni has consistently emphasised value addition as central to Uganda’s development strategy, arguing that exporting finished goods rather than raw materials is critical to increasing export earnings, creating jobs and accelerating industrialisation.
The discussions concluded with a renewed commitment from both sides to deepen cooperation in agro-processing, industrial development and market expansion, marking a significant step in strengthening Uganda–Saudi Arabia economic relations.
