The UAE will develop Uganda’s new international airport

The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry has inked an agreement with Uganda to build the country’s third international airport, according to a statement by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni office. Construction will commence in August 2024, Reuters reports, and no investment ticket was disclosed.

Another avenue for exports? The UAE is Uganda’s primary export destination racking up approximately USD 1.22 bn in exports annually as of 2022. The country’s top exports are gold and coffee netting USD 1.9 bn and USD 753 mn respectively in 2022. More recently, UAE’s Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Maktoum Bin Jumah Al Maktoum extended the use of seven cargo planes to help boost the country’s agro exports.

And a boost for investments: Uganda — named the best investment destination in Africa in 2023 — has been attracting a wide range of investments from the UAE. The Uganda Investment Authority submitted three green investment projects at COP28 in Dubai last year, which attracted USD 400 mn in FDI. Dubai-based private investment office Alpha MBM Investments was in discussions last January to reportedly establish a USD 4 bn refinery to process a portion of the country’s crude oil.