Ugandan and United Kingdom Members of Parliament will soon hold exchange visits and will also establish a joint parliamentary group to facilitate cooperation.
The resolution follows a meeting held in London between a group of Ugandan legislators led by Dokolo Woman MP Cecilia Ogwal, who is also a parliamentary commissioner, and their British counterparts led by Ugandan-born Lord Sheikh.
The Lord Sheikh, who hosted the group, was joined by other Members from the House of Lords including Lord Popat, the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Uganda and Rwanda; Ms. Pauline Latham OBE MP for Mid Derbyshire and Sir William Cash, Chairman African Parliamentary Group (APG) among others.
During the meeting the two groups deliberated on a number of issues among them the revival of Uganda Airlines, which they said, would greatly improve business opportunities for the citizens of the two countries.
The Ugandan delegation, which was in the UK to attend to 6th Uganda Convention late last month, also sought to have big UK business names like Marks and Spencer, HM and Primark invest in Uganda. They also decried the challenges involved in obtaining the UK visa, prompting Lord Popat to ask them to communicate officially so as to enable him take up the matter with the UK foreign minister.
On their part the UK delegation told the Ugandan MPs about their leaving the European Union (Brexit) and the benefits available to Uganda and Britain’s revival of its relations with Africa at her ‘own terms and conditions’.
Members of the Uganda delegation included MPs Cecilia Ogwal Atim, Alex Byarugaba, the Chairperson Committee on Natural Resources; Sarah Najjuma of the Committee on Gender, Labour & Social Development; Nantume Egunyu Committee on Local Government Accounts; Andrew Baryayanga Aja and Norah Bigirwa (Committee on Natural Resources); and Anthony Okello, Vice Chairperson Finance Committee.
Other members of the delegation were parliamentary staff among them Agnes Nabasumba Amooti, the Senior Public Affairs Officer and Diaspora Desk Coordinator; Jackie B. Guma, the Legal Counsel on Diaspora issues; Moses Kyaligonza, the Data Analyst in Leader of Opposition (LoP) Office and Willy Mutenza, the Chairman of the UK Trade and Investment Convention.
