The Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Henry Ariganyira Musasizi, has called on Thai investors to establish industries in the country, citing opportunities in agro-processing, mineral value addition, tourism, manufacturing and technology as it pursues its ambition of growing the economy to $500 billion by 2040.
Minister Musasizi made the appeal during the Uganda-Thailand Economic Networking Dinner held at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, on Monday, October 12, 2026.
Minister Musasizi said Uganda wants to leverage Thailand’s experience in agro-processing, food exports, tourism and high-tech manufacturing to boost domestic production, create jobs and increase export earnings.
“Together, let us turn the friendship between our two countries into factories, export growth, jobs and shared prosperity,” he said.
He identified investment opportunities in coffee processing, pharmaceuticals, fertiliser production, steel products, cement manufacturing, meat and dairy processing, processed foods, tourism and hospitality.
The minister also highlighted opportunities to use Uganda’s mineral resources as raw materials for manufacturing higher-value products, including electric batteries from lithium, automotive steel and construction materials from iron ore, organic fertilisers from phosphates, and electrical conductors and battery components from copper and cobalt.
Minister Musasizi said Uganda’s strategic position within the East African Community (EAC), which has a market of about 530 million people, offers investors access to a wider regional market. He added that the African Continental Free Trade Area provides further opportunities for companies seeking to expand across the continent.
To attract investment, he said, the government is offering fiscal incentives and developing industrial parks and export processing zones, alongside investments in energy, transport, irrigation and information and communication technology infrastructure to reduce the cost of doing business.
Minister Musasizi added that investors can register businesses within one day, own 100 per cent of their investments and repatriate profits without restrictions.
The Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury, Dr Ramathan Ggoobi, presented Uganda’s economic performance and expanding export base as evidence of the opportunities available to prospective investors.
He said the economy grew by 6.4 per cent in the 2025/26 financial year, while exports of goods and services rose to $18.4 billion, representing annual growth of 34 per cent.
Foreign direct investment inflows reached $3.7 billion in 2025, while tourism receipts increased to $1.62 billion, according to Dr Ggoobi.
He added that Uganda had introduced 31 new export products over the past 15 years, generating about $333 million annually and reflecting efforts to diversify the country’s export base.
Economic growth is projected to accelerate to 10.2 per cent in the 2026/27 financial year, supported by the government’s Tenfold Growth Strategy, which prioritises agro- industrialization, tourism, minerals and oil, and science, technology and innovation.
Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, represented by Director General Urasa Mongkolnavin, reaffirmed the importance of strengthening bilateral cooperation and economic ties between the two countries.
“Let us continue to build a bond of friendship between our two countries,” Mongkolnavin said, adding that geographical distance should not hinder closer engagement between Asia and Africa.
Uganda’s High Commissioner to Thailand, Betty Bigombe, also called for deeper engagement between the two countries to expand trade and investment opportunities.
The engagement forms part of Uganda’s broader economic and commercial diplomacy strategy aimed at attracting foreign investment, increasing tourism, expanding export markets and promoting value addition to support industrialization and job creation.
