The Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mombasa chapter has signed an MoU with the Ugandan consulate to boost trade between the two countries.
The deal was signed by Uganda's Mombasa consul general Ambassador Paul Mukumbya and KNCCI Mombasa chairperson Mustafa Ramadhan at the KNCCI office on Wednesday.
Ramadhan said the MoU serves as a catalyst for advancing Kenya-Uganda relations and an avenue for attaining food security for both countries.
“Uganda is traditionally our biggest export market and the numbers are now improving. This MoU provides a platform for further collaboration between the KNCCI Mombasa and the Uganda Consulate. We look forward to bringing the business numbers up for the two countries,” he said.
Ramadhan said the two institutions will expand the resources available to local businesses to grow, enhance and support trade between the two countries.
Mukumbya said the agreement will build trust, access and expertise to help local businesses find new resources and opportunities.
“We hope that the signing of this agreement will strengthen our cooperation as we seek to gain a better understanding of the vital role of agriculture and trade within the region,” he said.
Mukumbya said its key mission is to promote tourism, trade, and investments.
“We are no longer so much engaged in political diplomacy, writing political reports, but doing a lot of promotion work by promoting trade, investment and trade,” he said.
Mukumbya said the inadequate commitment to a regional development agenda leaves room to pursue national objectives, often at the expense of regional objectives.
“This has been particularly evident in the agricultural sector where several bitter disputes relating to trade in agro-processed commodities have occurred,” he said.
Currently, agri-product exporters from Kenya and Uganda are faced with challenges related to non-tariff barriers that are both domestic and foreign.
They are certification, labeling, packaging, quality standards management, rules of origin and other non-tariff barriers associated with foreign regulations.
According to Kenya’s Economic Survey 2019, the value of imports from Uganda to Kenya rose to Sh49.4 billion in 2018 from Sh17.5 billion in 2014 on account of increased imports of maize, animal feeds, milk and sugar.
In Uganda, the agriculture sector accounts for over 24 per cent of their GDP and generates more than half of the country’s export earnings at 54 per cent according to IMF and World Bank 2019 reports.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
