UgandaRelations between Egypt and UgandaBrief History:
The relations between Egypt and Uganda have deep roots with the Egyptian support to the Ugandan struggle for independence.Egypt-Uganda relations are characterized by positive cooperation in various fields including energy, health, ICT, education and irrigation.
Uganda adopted a supportive stance towards Egypt in the African Union following the June 30 Revolution. President Museveni criticized the position of the African Union and adopted a clear position in support for Egypt's return to the African Union and the resumption of its AU activities.
His position coincided with Uganda's presidency of the African Union Peace and Security Council.Mutual Visits and Meetings:
The past years witnessed a lot of mutual visits between Egypt and Uganda on different governmental levels, including:
• The visit of former Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs to Uganda on October 2013, heading a delegation included the ministers of Agriculture and Housing.
• The visit of former Egyptian Minister of Irrigation and Water Recourses to Uganda on March 2014.
• The participation of the Ugandan Minister of Regional Affairs in the Egyptian Presidential inauguration ceremony on June 2014.
• H.E. President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi held a meeting with H.E. President Yoweri Museveni on the sidelines of the African Union summit in Equatorial Guinea on June 2014.
• The visit of Ugandan State Ministers of Financial Affairs and Animal Production to Cairo on September 2014.
• The visit of the Inspector General of Ugandan Government to Cairo on February 2015, during which she met with the Chairman of the Administrative Control Authority and a memorandum of understanding for the exchange of expertise and training in combating corruption between the two countries was signed.
• The visit of H.E. Sam Kutesa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uganda, to Egypt on March 2015, during which he met with H.E. President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and the his Egyptian counterpart to discuss several issues of mutual interest.
• The visit of H.E. Maria Mutagamba, Ugandan Minister of Tourism, to Cairo on April 2015, during which a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in tourism between the two countries was signed.
• A delegation from the Egyptian Institute for Diplomatic Studies visited Uganda on April 2015, during a Nile basin countries tour that included as well Ethiopia and Kenya.
• The visit of H.E. Sameh Shoukry, Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, to Uganda on May 2015, during which he met with H.E. President Museveni to discuss the bilateral relations and regional African developments.
• The visit of the Permanent Secretary of the Ugandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Cairo on August 2015, to hold a joint consultation meeting concerning the bilateral relations and various regional and international issues of mutual interest.
• The visit of the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs to Uganda in May 2015 the participation of the Ugandan Minister of Water and Environment in the inauguration ceremony of the new Suez Canal in August 2015 the visit of the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Uganda to Egypt in June 2016 the visit of a delegation from the Ugandan Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee to Egypt in September 2016, the visit of the Minister of Local Government to Kampala to inaugurate the Egyptian slaughterhouse, as well as his participation along with the Minister of Higher Education at the inauguration ceremony of the Ugandan President in May 2016.
• Uganda hosted the Nile Basin Summit in June 2017, which held for the first time to discuss ways of advancing cooperation among the Nile Basin countries.
Economic Relations:
• The total Egyptian exports to Uganda in 2014 reached about 70 million USD, while imports reached 1.5 million USD.
Egypts exports to Uganda include cane sugar, polyacetals and washing preparations. Egypt's imports from Uganda include tea and tobacco.
• Egypt's exports to Uganda are diversified and range from fruits to processed food products, lighting oils, medicines and cosmetics, as well as a number of industrial products such as sanitary ware, construction materials, paper, clothing and ceramics.
Ugandan exports to Egypt focus on raw materials such as coffee, and some seeds of fruits and vegetables, and tobacco.
• The Egyptian companies and institutions operating in Uganda are remarkably increasing their activities, such as Al-Nasr Co. for Export and Import, EgyptAir, Cairo International Bank in Kampala, the Arab Contractors Company, Mantrac Co. owned by Mansour Group, in addition to the acquisition by the Qalaa Holdings of a 51% stake in the Rift Valley Railways RVR which connects the Kenyan port of Mombasa and Kampala.
• The recent period has also witnessed positive steps by the Egypt-Uganda Food Security Company, which opened and operated the Egyptian meat automated slaughterhouse in Kampala with investments estimated at 10.5 million USD, a project of particular interest to President Museveni.Technical cooperation and assistance:
• The Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development (EAPD) is considered as the most important tool in providing technical assistance to Uganda and enhancing the cooperation between the two countries, through the assistance that it provides to capacity building and human development in Uganda in the fields of police, defense, judiciary, agriculture, water and irrigation, energy, health, diplomacy and media, in addition to the training courses organized by various Egyptian institutions in various fields including the Egyptian International Center of the Agriculture (EICA), the Cairo Center for Conflict Resolution & Peacekeeping in Africa (CCCPA) and Police Academy.
• Uganda is one of the top countries recipients of the Egyptian grants from the Agency with a total of 102 trainees for the fiscal year 2014/2015, in addition to dispatching 26 students to study in Al-Azhar Al-Sharif and 16 students in higher education in 2015.
• In 2007, Egypt financed the rehabilitation of a part of Itojo hospital called the Egyptian branch in Ruhama province.
Egypt also provided a grant to finance the construction of housing for doctors working in the hospital.
