President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has reaffirmed Uganda’s strong diplomatic and development partnership with Japan and urged Japanese companies to invest more in Uganda’s private sector.
The President made the remarks on May 2 during a meeting with Eri Arfiya, the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, at State House Entebbe.
“We have a very good relationship with Japan, there is no problem at all—no issues,” President Museveni said, highlighting the mutual understanding and cooperation between the two countries.
He praised Japan for its contribution to Uganda’s development through key infrastructure projects. These include the Nile Bridge in Jinja, the Kampala Flyover, and the Gulu–Atiak road.
“Japanese are our very good friends. They have helped with some bilateral projects like the bridge over the Nile, then the flyover and the Gulu–Atiak road,” the President noted.
Museveni urged Japanese companies to look beyond aid and focus on the private sector to drive job creation and economic growth.
“Bilateral aid is good, but the bigger and better way is the private sector. There, you create jobs, expand the economy, bring in foreign currency, and cover more ground,” he said.
He encouraged Japan to explore investment opportunities in Africa, emphasizing the continent’s growing market potential, expected to reach 2.5 billion people in the next 30 years.
President Museveni also appealed for Japanese investment in regional infrastructure projects, including railways to connect East Africa, Congo, and Central Africa under the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA).
“Japan could play the two roles. If you talk of the CFTA, it can be CFTA on paper, but you must have infrastructure to link the market,” he said.
He further suggested investment in toll roads and asked for support in providing road construction equipment to meet the growing demands of Uganda’s expanded districts and municipalities.
Concerning the Uganda’s refugee policy, Museveni reiterated the country’s open-door stance, attributing regional displacement to colonial-era borders and divisive politics.
“Even the colonial borders are artificial. There is no way we cannot welcome our people. Politically, it is not a problem for us to keep refugees until their countries are peaceful,” Museveni said.
He criticized neo-colonial influences that exploit identity politics and affirmed Uganda’s commitment to unity and regional peace.
In response, Vice Minister Arfiya thanked President Museveni for the warm hospitality and praised Uganda’s role in promoting peace and hosting refugees.
“Uganda has done an incredible job in ensuring that there is peace and stability here for your own people as well as those in the region,” Arfiya said. “On humanitarian support, Japan will remain aligned to you.”
She pledged to push for Japanese investment and infrastructure collaboration upon returning home and delivered an invitation for President Museveni to attend the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in August 2025. Museveni confirmed a high-level delegation will attend the summit on his behalf.
Arfiya was accompanied by Japanese Ambassador Sasayama Takuya and senior officials from Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ugandan officials included Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Okello Oryem and Elly Kafeero from the same ministry.
