President Museveni Heads to Vietnam to Boost Bilateral Cooperation and Trade

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has headed to Vietnam for a two day working visit to boost trade and cooperation between the two countries.

The official visit to Vietnam by President of the Republic of Uganda, from November 23-25, is expected to open up cooperation opportunities between the two countries in the time ahead.

The visit which is the first by a head of State between Vietnam and Uganda is an important milestone in enhancing the bilateral ties. It takes place in the context of the two countries looking towards the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic ties (February 9, 1973).

During the visit, the two sides are scheduled to review  multi-faceted cooperation and set out specific measures to raise the efficiency of collaboration in the coming time.

Vietnam and Uganda have yet to open their embassies in each other's capital city. However, the bilateral relations have been developing fruitfully, from politics to economy, trade, investment and agriculture.
Vietnam appointed King Mulenga Augustus Ceasor, a Ugandan citizen, as its Honorary Consul in Uganda in 2017.

The bilateral trade between Uganda and Vietnam reached 14.3 million USD last year, up 39.8% from the previous year. Vietnam mainly exports steel, garments-textiles, machines, equipment, spare parts, phones and components to Uganda, while Uganda exports animal feed, materials, coffee, wood and timber products from the country.

As of October 2022, Uganda ran three projects worth 90,000 USD in Ho Chi Minh City, specialising in wholesale and retail, and car and motorbike repair. Meanwhile, Vietnam counted two projects on mining and construction in Uganda with a total investment capital of 35.5 million USD.

The two countries have coordinated and supported each other at multilateral forums, especially the United Nations.

Agriculture has been seen as a bright spot in the bilateral relations. Uganda sent delegations to Vietnam in 2018 and 2019, during which the two sides inked memoranda of understanding on cooperation in agriculture and fishery. Ample room still remains for the two countries to step up their collaboration in these fields.

The Ugandan President’s visit takes place at a time when African nations, including Uganda, attach importance to establishing and promoting cooperation with Asia-Pacific, including Vietnam.