UGANDA-PEARL OF AFRICA BUSINESS FORUM AND EXPO PRESS CONFERENCE ,18TH FEBRUARY 2025, ST. GILES HOTEL KUALA LUMPUR.
The Mission in Kuala Lumpur is preparing to host Uganda - Malaysia Business Forum and Expo [Pearl of Africa Business Forum&Expo] from 23 -24 April, 2025.
A press conference to announce the Forum was held on 18th February 2025 at St.Giles Hotel Kuala Lumpur. The media houses present included Bernama news, Malaysia World News,Awani, The Star and Portal UTV among others.
The Forum which is aimed at fostering bi-lateral trade, investment and tourism collaborations will be the Premier event in the ASEAN Region.
During the conference, High Commissioner Dr.Betty Oyella Bigombe emphasized Uganda’s readiness to collaborate in various sectors including Agriculture, Tourism, Mineral development ,Oil and Gas ,Science and Technology. “Agriculture as the backbone of Uganda’s economy contributes 53% to export earnings and employs over 73% of the population. Investment partners in commercial farming, Agro-processing, value addition, fertilizer production are highly required’.’
Ambassador Bigombe said opportunities in the mining sector are vast including gold mining,copper and lithium .The government seeks partners in exploration, extraction and value addition.
She highlighted opportunities in Oil and Gas upstream, mid-stream and down stream industries such as oil refinery and storage facilities.
She mentioned that Uganda welcomes partners in the hospitality industry, in a bid to attract more tourists given the wide range of tourism products such as gorilla tracking, white water rafting on the River Nile and mountaineering among others.
Science and Technology was also mentioned by Ambassador Bigombe, elaborating on areas of digitalization and e-business investments.
Ambassador Betty Bigombe informed about Uganda’s investment climate which includes tax holidays, labour abundancy and wide East African block market.
Ambassador Betty Bigombe also highlighted Uganda and Malaysia have been trading partners for many years -in 2024, Uganda’s exports to Malaysia recorded USD 108.29 million, while imports from Malaysia stood at USD250.13 million. She said that Malaysia’s success story is a lesson for Uganda. Malaysia’s strategic location as a trade hub for the ASEAN also makes it suitable for hosting the Business Forum in April 2025.
Ambassador Betty Bigombe invited both the Government and Private sectors to participate in the Business Forum. These include Business Associations, Chambers of Commerce, Tour and Travel Associations among others.
