Richard Linga
21 September 2008
Uganda has called on the Israel business community to invest in the country's high business potential areas.
Speaking at a meeting of members of the Israel business community and a delegation of Ugandan young business executives last week at "Beit Zionei America" centre in Tel Aviv, the Minister of State for Local government Hope Mwesigye told the Israel business community that the country has opened the door and set up good policies to allow them explore the export sector.
Ms Mwesigye invited them to invest in Uganda's tourism sector which she said still requires substantial investment in order to reap benefits. She said that while Uganda boasts of many natural resources compared to Israel, Uganda is not earning as much from the sector compared to Israel.
"Uganda is a beautiful country with many natural resources and some which are unique in the world such as the mountain gorillas but it is unfortunate that Uganda has not been able to tap a lot of foreign exchange from tourism compared to Israel which is not as endowed as the Pearl of Africa" she said.
Israel earns over $2.8 billion from the tourism sector, according to a Tourism report of the World Tourism Organisation. Israel is a destination of more than two million tourists from all parts of the world annually because of its archeological and religious sites coupled with facilities offering entertainment and a wide range of activities.
Uganda's tourism sector contributes nearly 26 per cent of Uganda's total export earnings and last year it fetched $449 million. The sector's slow growth has however been blamed on government's failure to fund it.
From the 2008-2009 budget allocations proposed by the finance minister, Dr Ezra Suruma, a meager 5 per cent was allocated to the tourism, trade and industry ministry. Ms Mwesigye, told the Israeli business community to also consider investing in the financial sector, agro-processing and infrastructure for the export market and also reduce Israel's cost of importing items such as meat, sugar, coffee and other food stuffs from other countries.
The Managing Director of the Israel-Africa Chamber of Commerce Ms Haya Sela said arrangements were in progress to link up with the Uganda Chamber of Commerce to exploit trade opportunities between the two countries.
"We are working closely with other African countries to boost trade and relations and I don't see why we should not sign up Uganda's Chamber of Commerce to benefit from agriculture and technology, very soon we will sign some documents," she said.
Ms Mwesigye challenged the 24 Uganda young business executives who are on a three-week leadership-training course in Israel, to initiate some projects in Uganda similar to those in Israel so as to contribute to the development of the country.
She also urged them to network with the Israel business community to acquire more skills and knowledge. The Ugandan group has visited education institutions, innovation and technology sites, manufacturing and small business development centres in a bid to acquaint themselves with the successes of the entities.
The leadership course for the young executives is as a result of a partnership between Uganda and Israel to equip them with skills to address contemporary leadership challenges.
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