Written by
Faridah N Kulumba
Africa-Press-Uganda On 26 October 2021, the Turkish delegation led by the Turkish Ambassador to Uganda H.E Fikret Kerem Alp met the President of Uganda Yoweri Kaguta Museveni in Uganda where he urged them to tap into Uganda’s vibrant fruit processing sector to promote agro-production.
The delegation from Kolin Construction, Tourism and Trading Company which is incorporated in Turkey, while in the meeting gave an update of the road construction they are working on in Uganda.
The discussion
President Museveni concurred with the proposal to build hotels to cater for the building tourism industry, and specifically urged the Turkish to work out projects in relation to value addition to the maize crop that Uganda produces, leather and minerals such as cement and iron ore.
Uganda assured the Turkish entrepreneurs of government readiness to help them build a hotel in Kampala and that will also facilitate them to establish a cement factory in the country.
The Turkish expressed their interest in manufacturing agricultural machinery that will boost mechanised farming in Uganda, the Daily Monitor reported.
Turkish-Uganda relations
Turkey had no significant relations with Uganda, although a number of Turkish firms conducted business with Uganda particularly during the Amin regime. The Turkish Embassy in Kampala and the Embassy in Ankara were inaugurated in 2010 and in respectively. The relations between the two nations are developing steadily as a result of high level visits between the two countries and the willingness of both countries to work together.
According to H.E Alp, the bilateral trade between Uganda and Turkey has greatly improved, noting that the construction sector was the driving force of the Turkish economy.
Turkey employs about 4,000 Ugandans in the ventures they are involved in and expressed interest in the Turkish construction firms being allocated more roads. The two nations have a strong commitment to development cooperation in the sectors of infrastructure, manufacturing, education, tourism and health.
The records from the Turkey’s ministry of Foreign Affairs, show that Turkey’s bilateral trade volume with Uganda was $41 million in 2019, which increased to $63 million in 2020. Turkey’s exports were $54 million while their imports were $9 million in the same year.
