Members of the Parliamentary Commission, the highest administrative organ of the legislature, have appealed to more Indians to come and invest in Uganda.
Members of the Commission including Cecilia Ogwal (Dokolo), Peter Ogwang (Usuk), Robinah Nabanja (Kakumiro) and Arinaitwe Rwakajara (Workers) concluded a one week visit to India where they engaged several potential investors, from 7th to 14th on Friday this week.
In the capital New Delhi they met Hon. Singh Atwal, the National Working President of the Forum of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) for legislators and parliamentarians. In the meeting Rwakajara stressed that the cooperation between Uganda and India has been in existence for centuries.
“We (Uganda) do not need to lobby the Indian government to work with us; we have been like a family from time immemorial in both our political and economic backgrounds,” he said.
Meanwhile Mrs. Ogwal said that Indian investors should start thinking of constructing hospitals in Uganda so as to accord Ugandans who cannot afford to travel to India access to better health facilities and care.
Nebbanja stated that red tape and corruption, as impediments to investment are being addressed so that investors have a conducive business environment.
She assured investors that with the current drive to middle income status, such bottlenecks to investment have no place in Uganda’s economy.
Commissioner Ogwang told the hosts that Uganda is a receptive nation.
“The investors from India will enjoy the hospitality of the Ugandan people, and the country has enough manpower,” he said.
The High Commissioner of Uganda to India, Elizabeth Paula Napeyok, said Uganda’s relations with developed countries like India is crucial in boosting the business sector.
On his part, Amarendra Khatua, the Director General of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations told the Commissioners that his country had special interest in the education and energy sectors.
The Commissioners’ visit to India was organized by the Parliamentarians’ Forum and legislators of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (designated groups of historically disadvantaged indigenous people in India). The meetings were attended by the Uganda High Commission, Members of the Punjab Parliament, and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.