Uganda and China entered a significant new phase of economic collaboration as the Embassy of Uganda in Beijing, together with the Qingdao Municipal Foreign Affairs Office and the Qingdao Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, hosted the inaugural Uganda–Qingdao Agricultural Trade and Investment Conference in Qingdao City. The forum, led by H.E. Ambassador Oliver Wonekha, brought together senior officials from Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Uganda Investment Authority, and key private-sector leaders to present Uganda’s evolving investment narrative to Chinese investors.
Ambassador Wonekha positioned Uganda as one of Africa’s most promising frontiers for long-term capital, highlighting a country defined by political stability, macroeconomic predictability, and a youthful, increasingly skilled labour force. She emphasized Uganda’s expanding manufacturing base, robust agricultural potential, and favourable investment environment as the core factors shaping the country’s emerging role as a regional industrial hub. In her remarks, the Ambassador affirmed Uganda’s readiness for transformative partnerships anchored in technology transfer, industrial growth, investment financing, and efficient trade facilitation. She further underscored Uganda’s strategic geography as a gateway to the East African Community and the African Continental Free Trade Area, offering investors access to a continental market of more than 1.4 billion consumers.
Qingdao, a city renowned for its innovation-driven approach to agriculture, presented a natural complement to Uganda’s development priorities. With globally recognized expertise in modern agriculture, aquaculture, smart-farming technologies, and agro-processing, Qingdao represents a strong industrial ally for Uganda’s agricultural modernization agenda. Speaking for the city’s leadership, Mr. Cui Zuo, Vice Chairman of the CPPCC Qingdao Municipal Committee and President of the Qingdao General Chamber of Commerce, highlighted the strong alignment between Uganda’s ambitions and Qingdao’s technological strengths. He described Uganda as an ideal partner for deeper cooperation and for the development of industrial value chains that enhance competitiveness for both sides.
The Uganda Investment Authority reinforced Uganda’s commitment to providing a predictable, investor-friendly environment. Mr. Fred Kakooza, Deputy Director General of the One-Stop Centre, assured participants that Uganda offers generous tax incentives, strong investor protections, and a clear regulatory framework suitable for large-scale agriculture and manufacturing ventures. He encouraged Chinese enterprises to establish processing hubs and manufacturing facilities in Uganda, positioning the country as a base for regional export under AfCFTA.
The conference was designed to accelerate bilateral trade, attract targeted Chinese investment into agriculture and agro-industrial value chains, and facilitate meaningful technology transfer across irrigation, digital farming, aquaculture, seed development, and processing systems. It also sought to deepen partnerships between Ugandan producers and Chinese manufacturers, enabling Uganda to strengthen its capacity as a regional production and export centre.
The Uganda–Qingdao conference represents more than a diplomatic milestone. It reflects a broader shift in Africa–Asia economic relations, where Uganda is emerging as a credible frontier economy capable of driving agricultural industrialization and contributing meaningfully to global food security. With this inaugural forum, Uganda signals its intention to become a central player in reshaping the agribusiness and manufacturing landscape of the continent.
