Burundi woos Ugandan investors

The Burundian Embassy in Uganda, in partnership with the Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UNCCI), recently held an investment conference aimed at showcasing investment opportunities in Burundi. Uganda’s Trade Minister Amelia Kyambadde, represented President Yoweri Museveni at the meeting held at the Kampala Serena Hotel. Kyambadde extolled the good relations between the two countries and said trade volumes had significantly increased in the last two years. The conference was marked by interactions between the Ugandan business community and officials from the Burundi Investment Promotion Authority (API) who also made presentations about Burundi’s investment potential. Kyambadde commended Burundi for controlling the entrance of substandard goods into its market and called for more policies that can eliminate Non Tariff Barriers (NTBs). Burundi’s Ambassador to Uganda, Jean Bosco Barege, called on the business community to tap into the country’s virgin investment potential, adding that East African citizens don’t require visas to enter Burundi. He further called on the business people to invest in his country because of several incentives for investors, including tax breaks. “Any investor who comes to Burundi is welcome and will be rendered all the assistance needed to carry out business,” Barege said. According to statistics from Uganda’s Ministry of Trade, Uganda’s exports to Burundi were worth 82 million USD in 2009 and they grew to 92 million USD in 2012. Imports from Burundi were valued at 0.8 million USD in 2009 but grew to 2.8 million in 2012. Barege told the business community that Burundians had now improved tremendously on their work attitude thanks to the country’s entry into the East African Community (EAC) in 2007.