Ambassador Paul Mukumbya has been the driving force in promoting Uganda's interests at the Kenyan coast through economic and commercial diplomacy.
The career diplomat was appointed three years ago as Uganda's Consul General to the Kenyan coast.
In an interview with the Star in his office at the Uganda consulate in Nyali, Mukumbya said modern diplomacy has evolved beyond its traditional political focus to embrace a broader, more dynamic role in fostering economic ties.
“These days, we don't do political work. In the past, diplomats were known for political work. Maybe I would be writing reports about maandamano [demonstrations] in Kenya, but that's the diplomacy of yesteryears," he said.
“We are now focused on what we call economic and commercial diplomacy, which promotes tourism, trade and investment, as opposed to political diplomacy, which mainly follows political developments in the host country.”
Uganda’s growth plan
The Ugandan government plans to grow its GDP tenfold by 2040.
It has identified four key areas of focus, summarised by the acronym ATMS: agro-industrialisation, tourism, minerals and science and technology.
“These are the areas the government and its agencies, including the private sector, will focus on to drive this tenfold growth of our GDP. Currently, our GDP is about $55 billion and we aim to multiply that in the next 15 years," he said.
Uganda's missions abroad have been identified as key contributors to the plan.
“As the consulate in Mombasa, we are primarily focusing on tourism. That’s not to say we ignore the other areas within ATMS, but tourism promotion is our main focus," Mukumbya said.
"Tourism intersects with many other sectors, like agriculture, so that's why we prioritise it, though we are also working on trade and investment."
Uganda’s interest in Kenyan Coast
Mukumbya said, "The primary reason Uganda established this consulate in Mombasa was our strategic interest in the Port of Mombasa. Uganda accounts for about 70 per cent of all transit cargo passing through the port."
Uganda has also identified other opportunities at the coast, including in tourism, investment and markets for its agricultural products.
Since his appointment in 2021, Mukumbya has spearheaded three Uganda–Kenya coast tourism conferences, facilitated key delegations between the two nations and opened doors for hundreds of Kenyans to explore tourism, business and investment opportunities in Uganda.
He has also expanded the market for Uganda’s tourism and agricultural produce.
“In economic diplomacy, I focus on promoting tourism, trade and investments. This includes finding new markets for our agricultural products, convincing Kenyan investors and manufacturers to invest in Uganda and attracting tourists to our country," Mukumbya said.
He said economic diplomacy is more hands-on, requiring direct engagement with stakeholders.
“To secure more markets for our products in Kenya, we don’t rely on virtual methods. We have to meet and talk to the traders and businesspeople importing these products," he said.
"This paradigm shift in diplomacy is not just happening at the Mombasa consulate but across all our missions abroad."
Mukumbya said in the first Uganda–Kenya Agribusiness Symposium in September 2021, Uganda sent the minister of Trade, the minister of State for Agriculture and the minister of State for Investment to address tariff and non-tariff barriers for poultry and dairy products.
“That symposium was mainly looking at how Kenya and Uganda can solve the issues of tariff or non-tariff barriers. Some of our products, especially poultry and dairy products, have seen non-tariff barriers that have been hindering or limiting their entry into the Kenyan market,” he said.
In 2022, the Uganda consulate organised a tourism, trade and investment conference in Mombasa and Diani.
"At the Diani conference, we identified new markets for our products. For instance, when we visited Feast Foods Processors, we found it closed because it lacked pineapples. They didn’t know Uganda produces pineapples year-round. After discussions, Feast Foods began sourcing pineapples from Uganda," Mukumbya explained.
Similar success was achieved with Uganda's ginger supply.
“Feast Foods indicated they were going to start on a new product that would require a lot of ginger,” he said.
The Ugandan delegation also visited Romika Shoe Factory in Ukunda, where discussions began about importing leather from Uganda.
“They told us they could import a lot of leather from Uganda. This has been a bit slow in materialising, because there have been a few discussions and challenges, but we are still following this up. But the market for our leather products to this Romika factory exists,” he said.
Mukumbya also mentioned ongoing talks with hotels to import Ugandan pineapples and sweet bananas.
“We have identified one or two companies that will soon start importing our pineapples and sweet bananas,” he said.
Tourism Conferences
In November 2022, the Uganda consulate in Mombasa organised the first Uganda-Kenya Coast Tourism Conference at PrideInn Hotel in Mombasa.
"The event was so valuable that stakeholders and the government agreed it should be an annual event," Mukumbya said.
The first conference attracted 250 delegates.
The second forum, held in Diani in November 2023, attracted 500 delegates.
The third edition will take place in Kampala, Uganda, this November.
Last Tuesday, the Ugandan government launched a campaign to attract at least 500 Kenyan tourism stakeholders and investors to this year’s event.
"This year's venue reflects how seriously we in Uganda take the Kenyan market," Mukumbya said.
The Uganda-Kenya partnership aims to complement each other’s tourism products.
"While Uganda has mountain gorillas, chimpanzees, cultural and religious tourism and Kampala's nightlife, the Kenyan coast offers beautiful beaches, marine tourism and historical sites. Both countries can work together without competing," he said.
Since 2022, tourism between the two countries has steadily increased.
Ugandan tourists visiting Kenya rose from 150,000 in 2022 to 201,620 last year, making Uganda the second-largest source market for Kenya, after the US.
Similarly, 490,000 Kenyans visited Uganda in 2023, making Kenya Uganda's biggest source market.
Achievements
"First, we’ve succeeded in changing the mentality of competition. Now, everyone appreciates that we can work together and promote cross-border tourism,” he said.
“Second, we've enhanced product knowledge and third, we've built strong partnerships based on trust. These partnerships boost confidence, ensuring stakeholders engage with reliable operators and high-quality services.”
Mukumbya is a career diplomat, who has served in Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for 30 years.
He has also served in Guangzhou, China and Khartoum in Sudan.
