President Museveni hails Uganda-Japan cordial relations

KAMPALA - President Yoweri Museveni has held talks with the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Ms. Eri Arfiya, whom he hosted at State House Entebbe.

During the meeting earlier today,y Friday (May 2nd), President Museveni reiterated Uganda’s position in maintaining and strengthening the cordial relationship existing between Uganda and Japan.

“We have a very good relationship with Japan and commend the government of Japan for the bilateral development projects undertaken in Uganda, citing the Bridge over the Nile in Jinja and the Kampala flyover, as well as Gulu to Atiak road.

He also encouraged Japanese companies to take keen interest in the private sector.

“I have been trying to encourage Japanese companies to invest in the private sector because there, we can do more work. Bilateral aid is good, but the bigger and better way is the private sector, because in the private sector, you create jobs, you expand the economy, you bring in foreign currency, and you cover more ground,” the President observed.

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni remarks while meeting the Japan Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Eri Arfiya.

A media handout from the Presidential Press Unit (PPU),   Museveni called on Japanese companies to tap into the potentially huge market of Africa, which will be 2.5 billion people in the next 30 years, forming a quarter of the human race.

The President further urged the visiting Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan to woo investors to invest in the construction of the railway network that could link markets on the continent under the umbrella of the Continental Free Trade Area(CFTA).

“Japan could play the two roles because if you talk of the CFTA, it can be CFTA on paper, but you must have the infrastructure to link the market, to build a railway from East Africa to Congo and from Congo to Central Africa that can lower the cost of doing business,” he proposed.

He also asked them to look into the construction of toll roads.

Toll roads are often built with private sector funding, and the tolls collected are used to repay those investments and cover ongoing costs.

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni meets Japan Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Eri Arfiya during a courtesy call at the State House Entebbe on May 2, 2025. (Credit: PPU/Tony Rujuta)

President Museveni also informed his guest of the urgent need for road equipment for the construction and maintenance of the road network in Uganda, noting that with the increase of districts to 147 and more municipalities, there is need for more units of road equipment.

President Museveni also informed his guest about Uganda's role in welcoming and hosting refugees from neighbouring countries, noting that it was the artificial colonial boundaries that separated the people at the borders who were otherwise of the same ethnicity.

“The root chaos in Africa is caused by neo-colonial agents who are working for foreign interests, and they bring the politics of identity, politics of tribe and religion. But our movement, which started as a student movement in the 1960s, was able to expose the wrong politics of identity, and we pushed for politics of interest. That is how we have been able to stabilise Uganda and also those Africans who are suffering in their own countries,” he said.

The Japan Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Eri Arfiya makes her remarks while meeting President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni during a courtesy call at the State House Entebbe on May 2, 2025. (Credit: PPU/Tony Rujuta)

“Even the colonial borders are artificial, there is no way we cannot welcome our people, the only problem is logistics. Politically, it is not a problem for us to keep refugees until their countries are peaceful and they go back.”

On her part, Ms. Arfiya assured President Museveni of her personal involvement in pushing for investment projects as well as infrastructure development programs once she sets foot at home in Japan.

She praised President Museveni for championing the resettlement of refugees in Uganda and ensuring peace and stability not only in Uganda but also in the sub-region.

“Uganda has done an incredible job in ensuring that there is peace and stability here for your own people as well as those in the region. On humanitarian support, Japan will remain aligned with you,” she stated.

Japanese Parliamentary Vice- Minister for Foreign Affairs Eri Arfiya and her delegation met President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni during a courtesy call at the State House Entebbe on May 2, 2025. (Credit: PPU/Tony Rujuta)

Arfiya delivered a letter of invitation to President Museveni to attend the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) slated for August 2025. President Museveni assured his guests that a high-level delegation would represent him at the event.

Members of the delegation of the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs included Mr. Hayashi Tatsuro, the Director Second Africa Division, Mr. Higashi Kunihiko, the Director Third Country Assistance Planning Division and Mr. Sasayama Takuya, the Japanese Ambassador to Uganda, among others.

The high-level Ugandan dignitaries at the meeting  included:  the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs,  Okello Oryem and Elly Kafeero Kamahungye, Director, Regional and International Economic Affairs.