BANGKOK, 2 August 2013 Thailand and Uganda have agreed to further strengthen their economic ties as the two countries signed three memorandums of understanding during Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s current visit to the African country.
Miss Yingluck arrived in Entebbe, Uganda, on August 1 and was welcomed by President of Uganda Yoweri Museveni at the latter’s residence where an official welcoming ceremony was held. Both leaders have been exchanging visits for the past eight months. President Museveni visited Thailand back in November last year during which Thailand proposed its Thai-African Initiative as a stage for Asia and Africa to bridge the two regions together.
In their discussion at the presidential residence, President Museveni assured Miss Yingluck of his intention to attend the High-Level Dialogue between Thai and African leaders, scheduled for 2014 in Bangkok.
In terms of trade and investment, both leaders agreed to engage in many aspects of cooperation covering food, agricultural products, energy, and mining industry. They agreed that MoUs to such effects should be signed between the Boards of Trade of both countries in due course.
As for academic cooperation, Thailand will give scholarships to Ugandan students to study in the fields that Thailand has the expertise in namely agriculture, tourism, human resource development, and medicines. The president also urged the Thai private sector to invest in the medical field in Uganda.
In social and cultural aspects, both parties agreed to promote Thailand’s Chiang Mai and Uganda’s Jinja as “twin cities”, with an aim to stabilize relationship of the peoples of both nations.
