Credentials

Uganda–UAE Relations on Course as Ambassador-Designate Presents Copies of Letters of Credence to Hon Ayebare

Amiri Wabusimba

Kampala, Uganda

Kampala, Uganda – The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Amb. Adonia Ayebare, received the copies of the Letters of Credence from H.E. Fahad Abulrahman Ali Mohamed Albashr, Ambassador-designate of the United Arab Emirates to the Republic of Uganda, marking an important step in the continuation and deepening of the longstanding diplomatic relationship between Uganda and the UAE.

The presentation of the Letters of Credence provided an opportunity to reaffirm the commitment of both countries to strengthening bilateral cooperation across political, economic, commercial and people-to-people relations. Uganda and the UAE established diplomatic relations in 2007, with Uganda opening its Embassy in Abu Dhabi in 2009 and the UAE subsequently establishing its Embassy in Kampala in 2011. Uganda further opened a Consulate General in Dubai in 2022 and a Uganda Business Centre in Dubai in 2024.

The diplomatic engagement came against the background of rapidly expanding economic relations. By 2025, bilateral trade had reached approximately US$4.72 billion, with agriculture accounting for about 50 percent of the total, according to Uganda’s Mission in Abu Dhabi. The UAE had also emerged as Uganda’s leading export destination, with Uganda exporting goods worth approximately US$2.03 billion to the UAE in 2023. Ugandan exports included gold and agricultural commodities such as coffee, tea, fish and cocoa.

The new diplomatic assignment therefore carried significant potential for advancing Uganda’s Economic and Commercial Diplomacy (ECD) priorities, particularly under the ATMS framework of agro-industrialisation, tourism, minerals, and science, technology and innovation. Beyond trade and investment, the UAE had also become an important destination for Ugandan nationals, with an estimated 160,000 Ugandans living and working in the country, creating an important people-to-people dimension to bilateral relations.

The presentation of the Letters of Credence thus provided a renewed platform for Uganda and the UAE to translate strong diplomatic relations into expanded market access, investment, tourism, technology transfer and sustainable economic partnerships, further positioning the bilateral relationship as a strategic bridge between Uganda, the Gulf and wider global markets.