Uganda, EU Deepen Trade Ties as Exports Hit €1.8 Billion

KAMPALA — Uganda and the European Union are seeking to deepen their trade and investment partnership, with both sides highlighting private-sector development, infrastructure, energy, climate finance and export growth as key areas of cooperation.

Finance Minister Henry Musasizi reaffirmed Uganda’s commitment to strengthening ties with the EU during a meeting with an EU delegation led by Ambassador Jan Sadek on Friday.

“We value the European Union’s longstanding partnership with Uganda and look forward to strengthening cooperation that translates into investment, jobs, exports and sustainable economic growth,” Musasizi said.

The engagement comes as Uganda and the EU mark 50 years of partnership, with cooperation increasingly shifting beyond traditional development assistance towards investment, trade, infrastructure, energy, climate finance and private-sector development.

Sadek said the EU–Uganda bilateral development cooperation envelope for 2021–2027 stands at €539 million, while Team Europe provides more than €750 million annually in development assistance to Uganda.

He said cooperation is focused on sustainable and inclusive growth and jobs, governance and social inclusion, and connectivity under the EU’s Global Gateway strategy.

The EU is also moving towards a broader financing model involving grants, lending, guarantees and blended finance aimed at mobilising private investment.

Under Global Gateway, Team Europe is investing about €1.4 billion in Uganda’s private-sector development, including approximately €300 million in grants targeting access to finance, skills development, the business environment and productive infrastructure.

Trade expands

Trade was a major focus of the engagement, with Sadek noting a significant increase in Uganda’s exports to the EU over the past decade.

Uganda’s exports to the EU rose from €377 million in 2015 to €1.8 billion in 2025, according to figures cited by the ambassador.

Uganda recorded a trade surplus of about €950 million with the EU in 2025, underscoring the bloc’s importance as a market for Ugandan products.

The EU is also supporting productive sectors and value chains viewed as having potential to drive Uganda’s long-term growth, including coffee, forestry, tourism and critical raw materials, alongside investments in energy, transport and digital connectivity.

“Our portfolio is broad and designed to deliver practical results while supporting Uganda’s own priorities,” Sadek said.

Energy and green finance

Energy featured prominently in the discussions, with the rehabilitation of the Nalubaale and Kiira hydropower plants highlighted as a flagship Team Europe project.

The rehabilitation has a €170 million financing package, comprising €30 million in EU grant funding and concessional loans from the European Investment Bank and the French Development Agency.

The project is expected to extend the operational life of the strategic renewable energy assets by at least another 30 years.

“The rehabilitation of the Nalubaale and Kiira hydropower plants is one of our flagship Team Europe initiatives in Uganda,” Sadek said.

The two sides also discussed climate finance and Uganda’s preparations to issue its first sovereign green bond.

The EU expressed interest in supporting Uganda’s readiness for the planned issuance and exploring how the instrument could help mobilise international private capital for sustainable investments.

The discussions signal an expanding economic dimension to the Uganda–EU relationship as the two sides mark five decades of cooperation, with investment, trade and private-sector financing increasingly taking centre stage.