Equity Bank pledges to financially facilitate trade and investment for Uganda-Vietnam Business partnerships.
Drake Nyamugabwa
As a partner of the Uganda-Vietnam Business Summit, Equity Bank through the Group Managing Director and CEO Dr. James Mwangi has said that with the good relationship and business partnership Uganda share with Vietnam, the bank can finance trade and investments
Dr. James who was the Keynote speaker at the summit partnered with the government of Uganda as part of the participants of the Uganda-Vietnam Business in Hanoi Vietnam where over 100 business persons from Uganda and Vietnam, as well as government officials, spent the two days this week forging relationships in trade and investment during the summit organised by the Honorary Consul of Vietnam to Uganda King Ceasor Mulenga, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Equity Bank Uganda as a first step into harnessing business relations between the two countries.
“Uganda and Vietnam share many commonalities and the coming together of these two nations and business communities avails a huge opportunity for us to further trade and investments. Uganda is part of the EAC and the Business Summit brings into perspective what the EAC community can bring on the table through partnerships such as this by working together to promote trade & investments, we are promoting the recovery & resilience of the African continent. As a regional bank, Equity is well poised to be a catalyst between the two countries to capacitate and facilitate trade and investment from a financing perspective” he said
The Equity Bank CEO in above picture added that by working together, Uganda and the greater East African region can diversify into edible oil processing and energy sectors borrowing from the key learnings and experiences that Vietnam has in this particular sector, because its one of the biggest struggles that the world is going through today. He said that Uganda is endowed with oil and gas which presents an opportunity for Vietnam to collaborate with Uganda to exploit these resources for the benefit of the world.
The State Minister for Trade, Hariet Ntabazi encouraged business persons in Vietnam to bring industrial investments in Uganda and add on the value addition chain.
“Take your money to Uganda and you will never regret. We are a peaceful country with good products but we only fail in processing. We have suffered a lot with people buying our products, putting their brands and selling them as their own. Our presidents have met and agreed on a lot. Next time we meet we shall be talking the same language, “ he said.
The Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam Vu Duc Dam promised that their government would support the cooperation between both countries as well as the business persons.
At the end of the summit, several business persons had sealed business dealings and a number of visits to Uganda and back to Vietnam had been scheduled.
Uganda and Vietnam signed several Memorandums of Understanding in the areas of ICT, trade cooperation, agriculture research, education, foreign affairs
