What you need to know:
- Minister Okello Oryem said though the two have never had diplomatic missions, they have had warm relations over the years
Uganda and Syria have pledged to deepen their diplomatic relations and open diplomatic missions in the two countries. Currently both countries have no diplomatic representations. While Syria has a consulate in Uganda, all Uganda’s relations with Syria are handled by its mission in Cairo.
During the Syrian day celebrations over the weekend in Kampala, the state minister for foreign affairs in charge of international relations, Henry Okello Oryem said though the two have never had diplomatic missions, they have had warm relations over the years, with Uganda opening its door to the Syrian businesses and refugees.
“So in terms of bilateral cooperation between Uganda, we hope that this opens new doors towards a bilateral trade between our two countries, because we have not had a bilateral or diplomatic missions between our two countries since independence,” he said.
“But we hope that with this new development, Uganda can now open a mission in Syria and the consulate here in Uganda can be upgraded to a full embassy,” he added.
Delve in food export, reconstruction
Oryem urged Ugandans to exploit the opportunity and start exporting agricultural products to Syria, saying that is a virgin area that has never been tapped.
“There is a lot of opportunities in agriculture, which we hope that we can sell a lot of our agriculture products. It’s a market that we can never satisfy in terms of our agriculture opportunities. Our bananas, our fruits, our vegetables, our cereals, a lot of opportunities. And if we strategically place ourselves properly, we can have opportunity to export numerous and enormous amount of our products,” he said.
Oryem said Syria is undergoing reconstruction under years of conflicts and that qualified Ugandans, especially engineers and IT experts should take the advantage to go to the country and participate in the reconstruction works.
He also said Syria has highly qualified professionals from whom Ugandan students can learn to improve their skills.
“And also, similar to hope in terms of this, are highly educated and trained individuals. And we hope that by that we can also have opportunities to send our students to work closely with them in order for our students to educate and gain experience in that country,” he said.
Dr Tamouh Mustafa, the Syrian honorary consul in Kampala said the years of civil war and dictatorship under the Assad family had ruined the country and that now is the time to rebuild what was once avibrant economy in the Middle East.
“I bring you greeting perfumed with the jasmine of Damascus. A greeting from the people who refuse humiliation. A people whose nature is to love all. For nearly 14 years, the world has seen little of Syria except violence and events until the mention of her name became unwelcome among many nations. Her people found few countries willing to receive them,” he said.
Painfully for Syrians, and people who have always opened their homes and hearts to nations suffering from war throughout history. One year ago, on this very day, Syria opened a new page in our history, written by heroes who feared none but Allah. They give their lives and their wealth to grant us this great gift, opening the way for us to rebuild Syria. We salute them with respect and we are certain their sacrifices will never be in vain, neither in the world nor the hereafter,” he added.
He said amidst the chaos and the events that unfolded far in the Middle East, Uganda never abandoned the people of Syrian, even when many across the globe turned their backs on the citisens from the country.
“Uganda opened its doors to Syrians from the very beginning of the revolution until it became a second home for many. Brotherly family ties have grown between Syrians and Ugandans. On this occasion, I extend heartfelt thanks to the government and people of Uganda. In my name and in the name of Syrians government and in the name of all Syrians, Syria strong as iron, looks forward to building strong relationships with Africa in general and with Uganda in particular,” he said.
Dr Mustafa said Uganda has received delegations from top Syrian government officials in the recent time and this can only help in furthering relationship between the two countries.
“Many Syrians officials have visited Uganda in the past year, including the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Syria. Numerous meetings and discussions have been taking place, which we hope will result in agreements across all in the future,” he said.
Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
