Kampala, 7 October 2014
President Kagame began his three day visit to Uganda with the 3rd Uganda Rwanda Business Council.
Organized by Uganda Revenue Authority, Uganda High Commission and Rwanda Development Board, the Uganda Rwanda business forum brought together over 300 business leaders from top companies in manufacturing, education and finance.
Held on the eve of the 7th Northern Corridor Summit, the forum emphasized the importance of integration in removing trade barriers and ensuring the expansion of businesses in the region.
President Kagame spoke on the relationship between private sector and government:
“If we are united and integrated,if policies are solving bottlenecks as is happening with regional integration, we have a clear chance of being where we want to be and shortening the time to get there.We need to stop approaching thing in the business as usual way, think out of the box and take advantage of the opportunities that are surrounding us. If business and government work together, there is no reason we can’t turn challenges into opportunities.”
President Kagame added that the search for resources must begin within our region:
“Before we go outside, why don’t we utilize the resources we have. We may have limited resources but we haven’t utilized them to the level that we should.”
President Museveni highlighted the untapped potential that exists within African economies noting the world record growth that continues to take place despite lack of electricity and basic infrastructure. President Museveni added that with initiatives such as the Northern Corridor that aim to address these challenges, growth in the region would be guaranteed.
The panel also included Denis Karera of Kigali Heights Investment, Konde Bugingo of Atlas Mara, Emmanuel Katongore of Quality Chemicals Ltd and Patrick Mweheire of Stanbic Banks.
During the second day of his visit, President Kagame will attend the 7th Northern Corridor Meeting and will end his visit on 9th October with the Independence Day celebrations.