By Nabimara Benson
The Fourth Uganda-UAE Business Forum concluded on a high note in Kampala, with Uganda and the United Arab Emirates signing multiple high-value investment agreements in agriculture, energy, and infrastructure. Held at the Speke Resort Munyonyo from October 27 to 29, 2025, the three-day event—under the theme “Accelerating Investment Partnerships for Shared Prosperity”—brought together over 500 delegates, including government officials, business leaders, and investors from both nations.
Organized by Uganda’s Embassy in Abu Dhabi, the Consulate General in Dubai, the UAE Embassy in Kampala, and Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the forum featured intensive B2B matchmaking sessions, G2G dialogues, sector-specific panels, and field visits showcasing Uganda’s investment-ready projects. In her keynote address, Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja described the UAE as Uganda’s top export market, with bilateral trade reaching $2.85 billion as of September 2025.
Nabbanja highlighted the UAE’s cumulative $3.5 billion investment in Uganda across energy, infrastructure, agribusiness, oil and gas, manufacturing, real estate, and tourism. “This partnership is not just about numbers; it’s about building a future of mutual prosperity,” she said, aligning the deals with Uganda’s Vision 2040 for economic transformation. The forum’s success reflects a decade of deepening ties. UAE foreign direct investment in Uganda has surged from $300 million in 2018 to $3.5 billion today, making the UAE Uganda’s largest FDI source. This growth follows key diplomatic milestones, including President Yoweri Museveni’s state visit to the UAE in January 2025 and the reciprocal visit by UAE Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan in May, which yielded six MoUs on investment protection, energy, transport, digital transformation, and capacity building. Uganda’s Ambassador to the UAE, Zaake Wanume Kibedi, credited the progress to deliberate policy coordination and investor confidence in Uganda’s economic stability. Six daily commercial flights between Entebbe and UAE hubs have also facilitated trade and people-to-people exchanges.
Among the landmark deals signed were a $1.4 billion agribusiness joint venture for large-scale maize and soybean production and edible oil processing, aimed at enhancing food security in the Gulf and creating thousands of jobs in Uganda. In energy, agreements exceeding $800 million were sealed for solar farms, grid expansion, and technology transfers to support.
Uganda’s green energy ambitions. Infrastructure and technology saw $500 million in new MoUs, focusing on aviation, logistics, and smart city developments. These build on earlier 2025 agreements and position Uganda as a regional hub for innovation and connectivity. Peter Muramira, Deputy Director for Business Development at the Uganda Investment Authority, emphasized the country’s investor-friendly policies and incentives. “We seek partners who bring capital, technology, and expertise,” he said, noting Uganda’s ranking as East Africa’s top investment destination and Africa’s third for returns.
The deals align with the UAE’s $110 billion commitment to African investments, with East Africa emerging as a strategic focus. For Uganda, they support ambitious GDP growth targets from $48.2 billion to $500 billion. Stakeholders proposed a UAE-Uganda Investment Council for quarterly reviews and dispute resolution to ensure implementation.
As the forum closed, optimism filled the air. “This is not just an event—it’s a blueprint for enduring prosperity,” said Dr. Khalid Al Nuaimi, a leading UAE business figure. With concrete commitments in place, Uganda and the UAE are set to transform dialogue into development, redefining South-North economic cooperation for generations to come.
