BUJUMBURA March 24th (ABP) – The Burundian Minister of Trade, Transport, Industry and Tourism, Mrs. Chantal Nijimbere, opened on Wednesday at the Source du Nil Hotel, a Forum of Burundian and Ugandan economic operators.
On that occasion, Minister Nijimbere indicated that economic relations between Burundi and Uganda do not date from today, that already under colonization, Burundians fleeing the colonizer’s burden went to Uganda at Manamba where they worked in the sugar cane plantations of the Gakera sugar factory.
She said that this forum is part of the National Development Plan of Burundi PND 2018-2027 which aims to make Burundi an emerging country by 2030. She expressed the wish to see this meeting lead to investment decisions in both countries.
She did not forget to point out that Burundi is full of many opportunities in the transport, chemical, textile and agri-food sectors, in fishing and tourism and leisure, particularly on Lake Tanganyika, to name just a few.
She said that Uganda is a strategic country for Burundi and that trade between the two countries is in good shape, stressing however that the volume of trade must continue to move forward.
She said that Burundi is engaged in the construction of the Kampala-Mutukura-Kabanga-Kobero road and that soon the Burundi airlines will be able to land in Entebbe. She commended the resumption of Kampala airlines flights to Bujumbura.
The Ugandan Minister of Infrastructure of Uganda who represented the Ugandan Minister of Trade and Industry in that forum commended the holding of that meeting which is a concretization of the last visit of Burundi President Evariste Ndayishimiye in Uganda. She indicated that it is part of the holding of the third Burundi-Uganda Joint Commission.
The President of the Federal Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Burundi, Mr. Audace Ndayizeye, indicated that the volume of trade between Burundi and Uganda is 48 million US dollars of imports for Burundi against 38 million dollars of imports for Uganda, which shows that Burundi imports more than it exports. He also suggested that Burundi exports raw materials which is a great loss for the country and invited Ugandans and even Burundians to invest in processing industries to export manufactured products.
The opportunities are numerous according to him, highlighting in particular the energy sector, the agri-food sector, tourism, transport, infrastructure and fishing.
For that last part, he said that Lake Tanganyika is under-exploited for lack of equipment and that Uganda, equipped and experienced in this area, could invest in that field, and so on.