Speaking at the 66^th anniversary celebrations of the National Day of Egypt, Foreign Affairs minister of Uganda, Sam Kutesa said the warm relations has led to a significant rise in the volume of trade between the two countries, contributing to the socio, political and economic development of its peoples.

Driven by mutual interests, both countries, Kutesa noted, are intensifying efforts to scale up trade, tourism and investment.

“Currently, the volume of trade between Uganda and Egypt has reached over US$70m annually,” Kutesa said, at the function held at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel on Tuesday evening, attended by top government officials and members of the diplomatic corps.

National day celebrations
Egypt celebrates July 23 as the national day, which coincides with the annual celebration of the Egyptian revolution of 1952 when a group of soldiers, led by Gamal Abdel Nasser declared the modern republic of Egypt, ending the era of the Kingdom of Egypt.

Egypt’s Ambassador to Uganda, Tarek Sallam noted that the National Day of Egypt is also of huge significance to the African continent, given that Egypt, at the time, provided sanctuary to many of Africa’s leading lights.

“It is our pride to remember that leading figures in Africa such as Nelson Mandela, Kwame Nkrumah and Milton Obote, among many others, resided in Egypt as their second home,” he stated.

Sallam said Egypt under the leadership of President Abdel Fatah El Sisi, is witnessing positive change in key sectors and is currently investing heavily in the development of its African neighbours, Uganda inclusive.

On the issue of regional peace, security and development, both Kutesa and Sallam reiterated the need to find ‘African solutions to African problems’, noting that both Presidents Sisi and Yoweri Museveni share a common stance on this.

“The two leaders are working closely together on achieving stability in the African continent with the devotion of bringing sustainable peace and prosperity to African people, as the two share the concepts of “African solution for African problems”, said Sallam.

Bilateral relations 
On the issue of bilateral trade, Kutesa expressed optimism in the potential for trade and investment between the two countries to grow significantly over the next two years and reiterated government’s commitment to this.

“In this regard, Uganda is committed to implementing the initiatives and projects agreed upon in the priority sectors of agriculture and agro-processing, livestock, energy, transport and ICT,” Kutesa said, adding that the agreements were reached during a state visit to Egypt by Museveni in May this year.

“The economic relationship between Egypt and Uganda has promising potential, and we are working together to achieve mutual benefits for our people,” Sallam said.

The Ambassador noted that Egypt is keen on working closely with Uganda during the Egypt’s term of presidency of the African union in 2019, to have “a strong and capable African Union.”