Rest Assured! Minister Kasaija assured UAE investors of good investment environment
The 4th Edition of the Uganda-UAE Business Forum has just ended in Kampala, with calls for commitments to stronger economic ties.
The United Arab Emirates has increasingly been featuring among the top destinations of Ugandan exports and sources of Foreign Direct Investments, among others.
According to the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, trade between the two countries has grown to USD 2.85 billion as of September 2025, up from USD 600 million in 2018.
Pearls, precious stones and metals, dominated by gold, are the top export earners for Uganda from the UAE, accounting for almost USD 2.6 billion, up from 2.3 billion in 2023. This means the UAE accounts for just over 80 percent of Uganda’s gold exports, and about 30 percent of total exports.
The country is also increasingly becoming a coffee export destination, taking USD 20 million worth of the commodity from Uganda in 2020. Other exports include fish and vegetables.
The Minister said Uganda had embarked on a forward-looking strategy to enhance trade, attract investments and promote value-added exports, adding that Uganda offered one of the most attractive investment climates in the region.
Kasaija said over the last three years, Uganda and UAE have strengthened economic cooperation in a significant way, noting that the UAE has not only become Uganda’s largest export destination but has also heavily invested in the East African country.
The value of UAE investment in Uganda is estimated to have reached USD 3.5 billion (about UGX 13 trillion) in 2024, up from about USD 300 million (UGX 1.1 trillion) in 2018.
The country’s most investment interests are mainly in energy, infrastructure, agribusiness, oil and gas, manufacturing, real estate, and tourism sectors. The investment portfolio of the Middle East country in Ugandan was boosted earlier this year when a USD 4 billion agreement was signed with the UAE-based company, Alpha MBM Investments, to build Uganda’s 60,000-barrel-per-day oil refinery in Kabaale, Hoima District.
The Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) will own 40 percent and Alpha MBM 60 percent, with the project expected to be operational by 2029.
The UAE has also become a major source of diaspora remittances to Uganda. Together with other Middle East countries like Saudi Arabian, Qatar and Iraq, they are only behind the United Kingdom and the United States.
According to available figures, of the total USD 1.4 billion in diaspora remittances to Uganda, the Middle East accounts for at least 700 million or more than half, mainly from unskilled and semi-skilled Ugandans.
According to Ugandan ambassador to the UAE, Zaake Kibedi, the number of Ugandans working in and living in the Emirates has grown from 40,000 in 2018 to 160,000 in 2024.
He emphasises that these are only those that leave the country through the formally established channels, while another 70,000 are believed to arrive in the country illegally.
In total, an estimated UGX 4.5 trillion is collected by the government from the labour export sector annually. Noticing the increasing activity, in terms of trade, travel and investment, between Uganda and the UAE, Uganda Airlines established the Entebbe-Dubai route with four flights a week.
Ramathan Ggoobi, the Ministry of Finance Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury, says investment between UAE and Uganda is poised to grow further, as he assured the investors of a high return of investments, as high as 14%.
He also assured them of a high return on equity of as high as 30 percent for listed companies, on top of generous incentives to investors and a stable macro economy. “Our pledge to you is that we shall do whatever is necessary to facilitate your investment,” said Ggoobi.
