A visitor takes selfies with a staff member at the booth of Uganda during the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, June 28, 2019. (Xinhua/Xue Yuge)
by Ronald Ssekandi, Zhang Gaiping
KAMPALA, July 5 (Xinhua) -- At the just-concluded China-Africa Trade Expo, Uganda was able to conclude several deals aimed at fast-tracking development in the east African country.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who delivered a keynote speech at the opening of the expo held in Changsha, Hunan Province, China, led a delegation of senior government officials including those in the tourism, agriculture, trade, and manufacturing sectors.
The private sector was also among the more than 10,000 guests and traders from 53 African countries, according to organizers.
Uganda, one the expo's guest countries of honor and with dedicated pavilions, pitched to potential Chinese investors and clients on why they should invest in the country.
Museveni made a case for Uganda's tourism potential, agriculture and industrialization.
The president also urged the Chinese to take advantage of the Continental Free Trade Area that opens up an integrated African market.
Lilly Ajarova, chief executive of Uganda Tourism Board, a government agency charged with promotion of tourism, told Xinhua before the Chengdu expo that the board would use the event to attract more tourists from China and to get more Chinese investment in the tourism sector.
DEALS REACHED
At the end of the expo, according to the Chinese embassy in Kampala, Uganda reached a deal with the Hunan Province where the two signed a strategic cooperation agreement on electricity, agriculture, culture and tourism, parks and mining.
Uganda and China also agreed to develop Lake Katwe salt industry, and Chinese companies will invest in building mobile-phone assembly plants.
Elly Twineyo, executive director of Uganda Export Promotion Board, told Xinhua on Wednesday that the board is compiling a report from both government and the private sector on the deals reached at the expo.
OPTIMISM
President Museveni argued that the expo comes at an opportune time when both China and Africa have a shared vision for the prosperity of their people.
Museveni, in a speech during the opening ceremony on June 27, said equitable trade is a precursor to global prosperity, and although internal trade is important, it is not enough to spur economic growth at a faster pace.
Countries need to open up and trade globally, he said.
"When China was transitioning from poverty to 'moderate prosperity,' all of us benefited," Museveni said.
He said China's opening up has benefited the rest of the world, especially Africa, which is receiving financial support to fast-track the development of energy and transport infrastructure, which are precursors to development.
In Uganda, China is financing the development of Karuma and Isimba hydro-power dams, key projects that the Ugandan government says are critical to fast-tracking development.
China is also financing transport infrastructure projects like the expansion of Entebbe International Airport.
Uganda is also seeking funding for the construction of a Standard Gauge Railway to link the landlocked country to the Kenyan seaport of Mombasa.
Museveni said although there still exists a major trade deficit between Africa and China, indications show that the gap will be closed as the Asian country continues to support the continent.
"As the old Chinese saying goes, 'If you give a man fish, he will have a single meal. If you teach him how to fish, he will eat fish all his life.' Our Chinese friends... need to continue working with us so that we learn how to fish and can thus eat fish all our life," he said. "This will be a true win-win partnership and will certainly be mutually beneficial."
