The President made the call today during a meeting with a Japanese delegation led by Ambassador Takahashi Misako, Director General and Assistant Minister for the African Affairs Department at Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at State House, Entebbe.
The discussions focused on strengthening Uganda-Japan bilateral cooperation in infrastructure, energy, investment, education, health, youth development and other areas of mutual interest.
President Museveni commended Japan for its support to Uganda’s infrastructure development, citing projects such as the Kampala Flyover and Karuma Bridge.
“Thank you for the support like the flyover and Karuma Bridge,” President Museveni said.
He said Uganda requires more road construction equipment to support road works across the country and proposed that each local government should have its own machinery rather than relying on shared equipment.
“I want each to have its own road equipment, the big ones, so that they don’t have shared equipment,” he said.
The President said the equipment could include graders, trucks, compactors and other earth-moving machinery, adding that the machinery does not necessarily have to be new provided it is durable and can be repaired and maintained locally.
President Museveni noted that Uganda had previously purchased road construction equipment from Japanese companies, including Komatsu, and expressed interest in acquiring more machinery.
He also requested a meeting with Japanese companies operating in Uganda to discuss challenges affecting their businesses and explore ways of strengthening their operations.
“I would want to meet them as a group, if we could organize. They come here and they tell me the issues they have, so that I can solve them,” he said.
The President further called for increased Japanese investment in agro-processing, saying value addition would create jobs, expand economic opportunities and contribute to Uganda’s economic growth.
He said Uganda supports wealth creation both domestically and globally because a stronger global economy creates markets for products from different countries.
The Japanese delegation said Japan would continue supporting Uganda’s development through infrastructure projects, human resource development, education, health and refugee support.
Ambassador Misako said Japan was considering additional support for the Kampala Flyover and road upgrading projects and was also exploring possible support for the improvement of the Kibuye-Busega road.
On the reconstruction of Karuma Bridge, the Ambassador said a groundbreaking ceremony was planned for November and expressed hope that President Museveni would attend, subject to his schedule.
“We would also very much like President Museveni to attend this ceremony if the schedule allows,” she said.
The Ambassador said Japan remained committed to supporting Uganda’s efforts to improve the welfare of refugees and host communities.
“Uganda accepts the largest number of refugees in Africa,” she said, adding that Japan would continue supporting Uganda in addressing the needs of refugees and host communities.
She also commended Uganda’s contribution to regional peace and stability, particularly its deployment of troops to Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Ambassador recalled Japan’s support to Uganda during the Ebola outbreak and commended the Government and people of Uganda for their response to the epidemic.
On trade and investment, she said 17 Japanese companies currently have bases in Uganda, operating in sectors including transport, health, manufacturing and agriculture.
She applauded President Museveni for creating an environment that enables Japanese companies to operate in Uganda, stressing the importance of maintaining a conducive business climate.
“Ensuring a free and fair business environment is extremely important for promoting foreign investment and further advancing Uganda’s economic development,” she said.
The Ambassador said Japan would like to see more Japanese companies invest in Uganda and called for continued cooperation between the two countries to strengthen trade and investment ties.
The meeting also discussed education and youth development. The Ambassador said more than 200 Ugandans had studied in Japan under Japanese Government scholarship programmes, while more than 4,000 Ugandans had travelled to Japan through various Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) training programmes.
She added that 846 JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteers had so far been deployed to Uganda, with 37 currently working in different parts of the country.
The Ambassador also highlighted the role of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in strengthening Japan-Africa relations, noting that Uganda has been a constructive partner since the first TICAD meeting in 1993.
