Gulu, Uganda – The Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Finance this morning jointly launched the Economic and Commercial Diplomacy (ECD) Strategy Handbook during the ongoing Annual Ambassadors’ Conference in Gulu. The Handbook was unveiled by Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury (PSST) Ramathan Ggoobi, together with the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in charge of International Cooperation, Hon. Henry Okello Oryem.
Hon. Oryem described the ECD Handbook as a guiding framework for Uganda’s economic diplomacy, urging Heads of Mission and Foreign Service Officers to internalize and apply it in their daily work. He stressed that Uganda’s foreign policy should be an active driver of development—attracting investment, promoting tourism, and positioning Uganda to effectively manage future oil revenues.
“The ECD strategy is now a handbook for economic and commercial diplomacy. Every Head of Mission and Foreign Service Officer should read, understand, and apply it to ensure coordinated action that attracts investment, tourism, and development for Uganda,” Oryem said.
PS Foreign Affairs Vincent Waiswa Bagiire challenged Uganda’s Missions to remain focused on advancing the country’s development priorities. He credited the increased resourcing of Missions with improving Uganda’s diplomatic impact, citing positive outcomes in Tokyo and New Delhi.
In his keynote, PSST Ramathan Ggoobi highlighted Uganda’s growing economic resilience, pointing to stable exchange rates, $3.7 billion in FDI inflows, record $2.2 billion coffee exports, a $1.5 billion tourism recovery, and rising diaspora remittances. He underlined the centrality of Agro-industrialization, Trade, Tourism, and Manufacturing (ATMs) in Uganda’s transformation agenda and pledged to personally visit all Missions abroad to enhance oversight.
Mr. Bagiire also outlined the pillars of the ECD Strategy, which include institutional coordination, export-import think tanks, country profiling, intelligence gathering, stakeholder engagement, and stronger private sector involvement—all designed to support Uganda’s Tenfold Growth Strategy.
Day Two of the conference continued with deliberations on aligning Missions’ activities with national priorities, enhancing institutional coordination, and advancing economic diplomacy to deliver tangible contributions to Uganda’s development.
