President Yoweri Museveni is on a State Visit to South Africa to consolidate bilateral ties between the two countries and hold discussions on political, economic, regional and international issues.

The President was invited by the South African President Cyril Ramaphosa  to review and strengthen the current state of bilateral relations and evaluate progress made in the implementation of agreed areas of cooperation while exploring cooperation in other areas of mutual interest.

The State visit was preceded by Political Consultations between the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of South Africa, Dr GNM Pandor, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uganda, General Odongo Jeje Abubakhar on 27 February 2023. The Ministers engaged on bilateral and multilateral issues of mutual interest and received the report of the Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM), on progress on the implementation of decisions of the JCC.

The two heads of State have witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation between South Africa’s Industrial Development Cooperation (IDC), Uganda Development Corporation (UDC) and Uganda Development Bank Limited (UDBL).

Other agreements signed were on tourism, transport, ICT, correctional services and prisons, women, youth and persons with disabilities.

President Museveni said the two heads discussed a number of issues  and we agreed to boost trade and investment between the two countries.

“Amongst the litany of issues discussed, we agreed to champion deliberate efforts to reinvigorate and boost trade between our two countries as well as put in place avenues to facilitate increase in investment.”

President Ramaphosa highlighted that while economic relations between the two countries have grown over the years, South Africa is concerned over the decline in the number of South African businesses operating in Uganda.

The two leaders held talks on political, economic, and regional peace in Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Western Sahara. They also discussed the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and and lamented the lack of a permanent representation of Africa in the UN Security Council, calling for reforms.

They resolved to enable the business community of South Africa and Uganda, to take advantage of the vast economic opportunities between the two countries, including those presented through the Agreement on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) and the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) between the South African Development Community (SADC), the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the East African Community (EAC).

The duo also addressed the media on pertinent issues, among others; the security question in the Eastern DRC, and also expressed our resolve to get rid of the issues that impede our economic growth.

The President has been accompanied by several cabinet ministers and a business delegation including  Ministers of Foreign Affairs; Finance, Planning and Economic Development; Energy and Mineral Development; Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries; Trade, Industry and Cooperatives; Works and Transport; and Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities.

South Africa and Uganda established formal diplomatic relations on 24 June 1994 and bilateral relations are managed through the Joint Commission for Cooperation (JCC), the second session of which was successfully held in Kampala in July 2022.