Uganda Can Become World Leading Economy – Korean Envoy Kenneth Kazibwe South Korena Ambassador to Uganda Park Jong-Dae . The South Korean Ambassador to Uganda Park Jong-Dae has revealed that Uganda can beat all odds and become one of the leading economies in the world just like his country did. Speaking at the Uganda-Korea business seminar at his residence in Nakasero on Thursday afternoon, Jong-Dae explained that just like his country did 50 years ago after the Korean war, Uganda can ably put together all the pieces and develop the economy. “As Uganda is trying to transform through the Vision 2040, they can borrow a leaf from South Korea who were the poorest country but have developed to become one of the leading economies in the world,” he said. The Korean envoy further noted that Uganda’s diversity can be of advantage as the population can easily be turned into assets that can be useful for development. “If all tribal and community leaders can come together and get something big out of this diversity, then a lot can be achieved unlike Korea where most of the population is aging, you can use the youth who are the biggest population to your advantage.” According to Son Pyong-il, the Head of KOTRA office in Kenya, Korea now has a GDP of more than $1 Trillion yet 50 years ago, the country that had just started putting together pieces after the 1950-53 Korean war and had 50% of its budget funded from aid. “We begun to adopt long term economic development through setting up of light industries which required little capital to set up but later foreign aid lowered whereas domestic export oriented industries rose up,” Pyong-il noted. Agriculture the way to go According to Korean Project on International Agriculture’s Dr.Jee Hyoung-jin, Uganda has a potential through agriculture to realize development and become a leading economy in the world. “You have more arable land 5 times bigger than Korea yet the soils are the most fertile in the Sub-Saharan Africa with ideal temperature and rainfall (between 1000-1800mm). You have the potential because it’s still low to increase productivity and this can lead to development,”explained Hyoung-jin. He added, “Because of the availability food shortage in neighbouring countries and the growing markets for organic products in Europe, Uganda chance to utilize this opportunity.” Challenges However, according to Hyoung-il, Uganda still faces a problem of low productivity and value addition which he said are caused by lack of extension services and inadequate budget allocation to the agriculture sector which he said is still hindering agricultural development. “Agricultural growth can’t be achieved by programmes and activities managed by the sector ministry alone. Cross-sectoral coordination needs to be improved the ministry and other sectors that provide complementary investments in agriculture,” he said. According to the South Korean Park Jong-Dae, his country is willing to assist Uganda in her efforts to transformation which would later lead to a developed economy. “As part of our commitment, we were able to fund the $7.4 m fruit processing factory in Soroti as well as a National Farmers’ Leadership Centre ($3.5m) in Mpigi district and all are intended to propel development of the agricultural sector in Uganda as one of the ways that would make the country a world leading economy,” Jong-Dae noted.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Nov 2014 21:13:44 +0000
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