Your Excellency Jessica Alupo, Vice President of the Republic of Uganda,
Honorable Dr. Chris Baryomunsi, Minister of Information, Communication and Technology & National Guidance,
Dr. Aminah Zawedde, Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of ICT & National Guidance,
Mr. Alex Kakooza, Principal Private Secretary to Her. Excellency the Vice President of the Republic of Uganda,
Mr. Kaija Irumba Rogers, Under Secretary for the Ministry of Education and Sports on behalf of the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Education and Sports,
Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, Vice Chancellor Makerere University,
Prof. Simon Katrina Anguma, Deputy Vice Chancellor of Muni university
Distinguished guests, friends from the media, ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning,
It is my great pleasure to join you here today at the Awarding Ceremony for the 2021-2022 Huawei Sub-Saharan Africa Regional ICT Competition and Seeds for the Future Program. On behalf of the Chinese Embassy in Uganda, and in my own name, I would like to extend our warm greetings to you all and congratulate Huawei Uganda upon organizing this wonderful and significant event. Taking this opportunity, I wish also to warmly congratulate our winners of the competition as well as the outstanding Seeds for the Future students upon their success!
My thanks also go to the Government of Uganda for creating an enabling environment for foreign investors including Huawei to join hands in making their contribution in the social and economic transformation of Uganda, especially in the sectors of infrastructure, ICT and education. Your Excellency and all distinguished guests, your presence today at the event is an important move of strong support for Chinese investors. I thank you for the good support.
Huawei is highly acclaimed for its devotion to high-quality ICT infrastructure construction and a strong sense of corporate social responsibility. Since setting foot in Uganda in 2001, it has long been Uganda’s important partner in ICT infrastructure development serving 75 percent of Ugandan population, and it has also been awarded as the best global provider of ICT infrastructure in East Africa. More than 70 percent of Huawei Uganda’s employees are local, and we were glad to see it awarded as the best global employer in 2021.
Since 2019, Huawei has trained over 6000 excellent Ugandan university students through the “A Better U for A Better Uganda” ICT talents training programs encompassing Huawei ICT Academy, Seeds for the Future Program and ICT Competition. Many of these young talents have already begun working the field and achieved good results. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Huawei Uganda has donated a large amount of medical supplies and daily necessities to communities in Busoga Kingdom, Nwoya District and Kiboga District.
In Huawei Uganda, we see a fine example of Chinese company who not only look for profits for itself, but also look for win-win results by giving back to the local community and its young generation so that business and friendship could last.
Distinguished guests, friends from the media, ladies and gentlemen,
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between China and Uganda. It is also the opening year for implementing the outcomes of the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).
On November 29th, 2021, President Xi Jinping, in his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the FOCAC meeting in Senegal, announced a series of new significant initiatives for China-Africa cooperation, including the Nine Programs on health, poverty reduction and agriculture, trade promotion, investment promotion, digital innovation, green development, capacity building, cultural and people-to-people exchange, as well as peace and security.
I want to further interpret some of the measures China is planning to take under the Nine Programs that are related to today’s occasion.
First is about the Capacity Building Program. Statistics show that by the end of 2021, China has provided more than 5,000 training opportunities for Ugandan professionals, technical talents and students through short-term seminars, training workshops and full scholarships provided by elite Chinese Universities. Under the 8th FOCAC capacity building program, China will focus on building education facilities, training all types of professionals as well as creating job opportunities for the African young generation. Specifically, that includes building or upgrading 10 schools in Africa, and inviting 10,000 high-level African professionals to seminars and workshops. China will also implement “Future of Africa—a project for China-Africa cooperation for vocational education”, and start an employment “Through Train” scheme for African students in China. China will continue to work with African countries to set up “Luban Workshops”, and encourage Chinese companies in Africa to create at least 800,000 local jobs.
Second is about the Digital Innovation Program. China will undertake 10 digital economy projects for Africa, set up centers for China-Africa cooperation on satellite remote-sensing application, and support the development of China-Africa joint laboratories, partner institutes, and scientific and technological innovation cooperation bases. China will work with African countries to expand Silk Road e-commerce cooperation, hold online shopping festivals featuring quality African products and tourism e-commerce promotion activities, and launch a campaign to market 100 African stores and 1,000 African products on e-commerce platforms. Uganda has identified the ICT sector as one of the primary drivers for achieving economic growth and status as a middle-income country. China is ready to work with Uganda to accelerate the implementation of its ICT Vision 2040 and embrace the fourth industrial revolution. We will continue to support Huawei and other Chinese companies in actively connecting with Uganda’s national ICT strategy to help reach accelerated economic growth, increased productivity and more job creation for Uganda.
Last but not least, under the Poverty Reduction and Agricultural Development Program, we will encourage Chinese institutions and companies to build Africa demonstration villages for China-Africa cooperation on agricultural development and poverty reduction. We will also support the Alliance of Chinese Business in Africa for Social Responsibilities (ACBASR) in launching the initiative of “100 Companies in 1,000 Villages”, which I believe will harvest sweet fruits for the welfare of the local communities here in Uganda with contributions from Chinese companies like Huawei and others.
Distinguished guests, friends from the media, ladies and gentlemen,
Today we are gathered here to witness the awarding ceremony of the sixth consecutive Seeds for the Future Program that Huawei has hosted in Uganda. But it’s only an epitome of Chinese companies shouldering due social responsibilities. I hope Huawei Uganda will continue to work for sustainable development of Uganda ICT human resources. Being a proud leader in the construction, research and development of ICT infrastructure, your success in Uganda is a microcosm of the win-win China-Uganda business cooperation. It also heralds a future of even stronger business ties between our two countries.
As we often say, business ties between two countries have always been a stabilizer and propeller for the bilateral relations. They strengthen the confidence and determination of the two sides to deepen China-Uganda partnership and promote sustainable development to build a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era.
I want to encourage more Chinese companies to participate in empowering the young talents that are crucial for Uganda’s future development and together with these seeds for the future contribute your own part to China-Uganda relations!
May the Huawei “A Better U for A Better Uganda” ICT talents training programs continue to achieve greater success!
I thank you all!