The Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Henry Ariganyira Musasizi, has reaffirmed Uganda’s commitment to strengthening its partnership with the European Union to attract investment, expand trade, support private-sector growth and accelerate economic transformation.
Minister Musasizi made the remarks on Friday while meeting a European Union delegation led by the EU Ambassador to Uganda, Jan Sadek.
“We value the European Union’s longstanding partnership with Uganda and look forward to strengthening cooperation that translates into investment, jobs, exports and sustainable economic growth,” Minister Musasizi said.
The engagement comes as Uganda and the EU mark 50 years of partnership, with cooperation increasingly moving beyond traditional development assistance towards investment, infrastructure, trade, energy, climate finance and private-sector development.
Sadek reiterated the EU’s commitment to working closely with the Ministry of Finance, which he described as the EU’s primary counterpart for development cooperation.
He said the EU-Uganda bilateral development cooperation envelope for 2021-2027 stands at €539 million, while Team Europe delivers more than €750 million annually in development assistance to Uganda.
According to Sadek, EU-Uganda cooperation is centred on sustainable and inclusive growth and jobs, governance and social inclusion, and connectivity, in line with the EU’s Global Gateway strategy.
He said the partnership was evolving towards a broader financing relationship involving grants, lending, guarantees and blended finance to mobilise private investment.
Under the Global Gateway initiative, Team Europe is investing about €1.4 billion in Uganda’s private-sector development, with approximately €300 million in grant funding targeting access to finance, skills development, the business environment and productive infrastructure.
Sadek said the EU portfolio was also supporting productive sectors and value chains with potential to drive Uganda’s long-term growth, including coffee, forestry, tourism and critical raw materials, alongside investments in energy, transport and digital connectivity.
“Our portfolio is broad and designed to deliver practical results while supporting Uganda’s own priorities,” Sadek said.
Energy was another key area of discussion, with the rehabilitation of the Nalubaale and Kiira hydropower plants highlighted as a flagship Team Europe initiative.
The project has a €170 million financing package comprising €30 million in EU grant funding and concessional loans from the European Investment Bank and the French Development Agency.
The project is intended to extend the life of the strategic renewable energy assets for at least another 30 years.
“The rehabilitation of the Nalubaale and Kiira hydropower plants is one of our flagship Team Europe initiatives in Uganda,” Sadek said.
The meeting also focused on climate finance, including Uganda’s preparedness to issue its first sovereign green bond.
The EU expressed interest in supporting Uganda’s readiness and exploring how the planned issuance could mobilise international private capital for sustainable investments.
On trade, Sadek noted that Uganda’s exports to the EU had grown from €377 million in 2015 to €1.8 billion in 2025.
He said Uganda recorded a trade surplus of about €950 million with the EU in 2025, reflecting the growing importance of the European market to Uganda’s economy.
