All set for 1st Manufacturing Summit and Exhibition in East Africa

The Minister of State for Trade, Industry and Cooperatives from Republic of Uganda, Hon. Dr James Mutende has confirmed that all is set for the 1st Manufacturing Business Summit and Exhibition in East Africa scheduled to take place from 1-2 September 2015 at the Speke Resort Hotel, Munyonyo in Kampala, Uganda and that President Yoweri Museveni is expected to grace the official opening.

Addressing the press today at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala, Dr Mutende said the Summit and Exhibition co-organised by the East African Community Secretariat (EAC) and East African Business Council (EABC), in partnership with the Ugandan government, will provide a strategic platform for an extensive and intensive dialogue on opportunities and challenges of industrialisation in the region.

Dr Mutende informed the journalists that Manufacturing Business Summit is a platform borne out of the recognition that sustainable economic growth and development in East Africa is unattainable without creating a vibrant and diversified manufacturing sector. He said that the Manufacturing Business Summit, therefore, marks an important turning point for the future of manufacturing in the region.

Speaking at the same occasion, Uganda Minister of State for EAC Affairs, Hon. Shem Bageine, emphasised that the region is endowed with vast natural resources and favourable climatic conditions that provide a strong foundation for industrialisation.

He said the Summit will seek to create an avenue for the private sector to advocate and campaign for the acceleration of industrial reforms aimed at improving investment climate in the manufacturing sector.

On his part, the Director of Productive Sectors at the EAC Secretariat, Mr Jean Baptiste Havugimana, disclosed to the press that the Summit will also focus on bridging the knowledge gap in the latest trends in manufacturing practices through global benchmarking.

The Executive Director of Uganda Manufacturers Association, Mr Sebaggala Kigozi, commended the efforts to improve the investment climate in East African, and called on organisations to sponsor and exhibit during the Summit.


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