Remarks by UN Resident Coordinator at Rwenzori Investor's Round Table

RWENZORI INVESTOR’S ROUNDTABLE AND LAUNCH OF RWENZORI INVESTMENT PROFILES

Remarks by the UN Resident Coordinator and Designated Official for Security, H.E. Rosa Malango

Kampala Serena Hotel

Friday November 6, 2020, 9:00am-1:00pm

Acknowledgements:

Your Excellency, the Vice-President of the Republic of Uganda

Honourable Ministers present, and Heads of Government Agencies

The Chief Coordinator, Operation Wealth Creation

Your Excellencies the Ambassadors,

Development Partners present,

Colleagues from the UN system,

Members of the private sector,

Members of the Academia

Members from the media

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen

On behalf of the United Nations, it is my pleasure to join the co-organizers to welcome you to the Rwenzori Investors’ Roundtable as a platform to deliberate on the opportunities for cross-border peace and development informed by the aspirations of communities, data on investment opportunities and a clear understanding of the policies and frameworks available to promote sustainable wealth creation in Uganda, starting with the Rwenzori region. Thank you for adhering to the COVID-19 preventive measures and joining us online and in person for this historic moment. Promoting inclusiveness, fair trade, empowering households and supporting productive partnerships starts with having quality data and clear strategic plans. This is why we are honored that today we will be launching the Rwenzori Investment Profiles for Agriculture, Tourism, Infrastructure and Services, Human Capital Development as well as Extractives and Minerals, financed by my Office, as a contribution to the implementation of both the National Development Plan III and the transformative Agro-industrialisation for Local Economic Development (Agri-LED) initiative for the Rwenzori region. I invite you to read the profiles and watch the three-minute videos. These are well-researched evidence products developed by Ugandan professionals under the umbrella of a special partnership including the United Nations, the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA), the National Planning Authority, and Operation Wealth Creation (OWC). I wish to thank Kisa and Associates for providing technical expertise to ensure international standards of the profiles.

Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen

This Roundtable has come two years into the UN Reform, which gives the UN Country Team a renewed mandate and responsibility to be more effective and accountable in our partnership with Member States as we pursue the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across the world by 2030. Our commitment to the Rwenzori Agri-LED is a re-affirmation of our support to achieve inclusive development, in full alignment with the aspirations of the people of Uganda. It is also a demonstration of our commitment to help identify opportunities to invest across the peace and development nexus by facilitating collaboration around improving lives and encouraging responsible business. We are delighted to convey that the outcomes of today’s deliberations will be used by the Office of the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General for the Great Lakes region as part of their efforts to mobilize support while promoting peace and development in the Great Lakes.

Your Excellency, Ladies and gentlemen,

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development calls on Member States to pursue partnerships for results. Today we can witness the impact of when we work together to overcome challenges and focus on contributing to improving the quality of life of people. Today is also important as we fulfill the pledge we made during the Rwenzori Investment Expo held in January this year at Mountains of the Moon University in Fort Portal to support the development and publishing of the Rwenzori Investment Profiles using evidence-based data to demonstrate the region as a potential hub for transformation and innovation in accordance with international standards. Today we also demonstrate our commitment to support the implementation of the transformational third National Development Plan (NDPIII) and its programme based delivery methodology. The NDPIII programs include Agro-industrialization, Tourism, Minerals and Human Capital Development as critical to achieve the vision of a modern society at peace with itself.

We took the risk to invest in the Rwenzori investment profiles to demonstrate that NDPIII is a critical roadmap that can help us enhance efficiencies, strengthen the use of data for service delivery, promote transparency, ensure good return on investments and scale up the involvement of households in the pursuit of sustainable development by creating sustainable jobs. The profiles also demonstrate that women, youth, local leaders, associations and others can work in close collaboration with Government, development partners and the private sector towards shared goals and targets. Synergies between Government, development partners, leaders of industry and homesteads are critical if success is to be achieved and sustained.

The UN is confident that the Rwenzori Agri-LED innovative approach will spur inclusive socio-economic transformation through interventions that directly target the most vulnerable such as women and youth and by establishing constructive links between communities, investments and sustainable development. Together we can transform Rwenzori from a fragile sub-region into an innovative, environment friendly cross-border economic hub. We welcome the increased bilateral agreements between Uganda, DRC and other countries in the region which are focusing on enhancing peace, development and trade for populations across the borders in the Great Lakes region. Regional leadership and national ownership are key foundations for transformation. We believe that linking this kind of knowledge to inform catalytic investments, such as the proposed scaling up of the Kasese International Airport, building the Semliki bridge and the construction of the Kasese Industrial park are examples of how data can identify opportunities for local and international investments to compliment each other and help accelerate green industrialization and socio-economic transformation.

Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Before I conclude, I would like to reiterate our belief that the data shared today can inform new approaches to development that contribute to building an inclusive resilient economy. I would like to congratulate the Government of Uganda for its pragmatic and science-based approach to mitigating COVID-19 in the country which we have supported. A recent study by the UN in Uganda on the socio-economic impact of COVID19 identified women and youth in informal economic sectors as the most affected. The Rwenzori Agri-LED approach is an opportunity to engage these women and youth in the journey towards a new economy.

As I conclude, on behalf of the United Nations system, and as a co-organizer of today’s function, I would like to reiterate our commitment to support innovation, inclusiveness and people centered approaches to peace and development. I would also like to recognize UNCDF and FAO for joining my Office in supporting the Agri-LED approach. I wish to thank the staff at the Uganda Investment Authority, OWC and NPA who worked tirelessly with us to make today possible. As the UN, we will continue to support the Government and people of Uganda in your journey towards shared prosperity through the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2021-2025) developed in full alignment with the National Vision 2040 and the NDPIII, which was launched recently by H.E. the President.

I look forward to a fruitful Roundtable, the successful launch of the Rwenzori Investment Profiles and a fruitful partnership during the last decade of action to achieve sustainable development for all, starting with Rwenzori.  To those overseas, please come and visit the Pearl of Africa. Thank you for your attention.