Minister Musasizi Reaffirms Uganda’s Commitment to EU Partnership to Drive Investment, Trade and Jobs

By Wilfred Arinda Nshekantebirwe

KAMPALA – The Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Hon. Henry Musasizi, has reaffirmed Uganda’s commitment to strengthening its partnership with the European Union to attract investment, expand trade, support private-sector growth and accelerate economic transformation.

Musasizi was speaking today while meeting the European Union delegation led by the EU Ambassador to Uganda, H.E. Jan Sadek, at the Ministry of Finance headquarters.

In a post on his X handle @henrymusasizi1, Musasizi said Uganda values the EU’s longstanding partnership and is keen on cooperation that delivers tangible economic results.

“We value the European Union’s longstanding partnership with Uganda and look forward to strengthening cooperation that translates into investment, jobs, exports and sustainable economic growth,” he said.

The meeting comes as Uganda and the EU mark 50 years of partnership, with cooperation shifting from traditional aid towards investment, infrastructure, trade, energy, climate finance and private-sector development.

Ambassador Sadek reiterated the EU’s commitment to working closely with the Ministry of Finance, which he described as the EU’s primary counterpart for development cooperation. He said EU-Uganda cooperation is centred on sustainable and inclusive growth and jobs, governance and social inclusion, and connectivity, under the EU’s Global Gateway strategy.

Under Global Gateway, Team Europe is investing about €1.4 billion in Uganda’s private-sector development, with about €300 million in grants targeting access to finance, skills, business environment and productive infrastructure.

Energy was highlighted as a flagship area, with the rehabilitation of the Nalubaale and Kiira hydropower plants. The project has a €170 million financing package – €30 million in EU grant and concessional loans from the European Investment Bank and French Development Agency (AFD) – to extend the life of the plants by at least 30 years.

The two sides also discussed climate finance, including Uganda’s readiness to issue its first sovereign green bond, with the EU expressing interest in supporting the process to help mobilise international private capital for sustainable investments.

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