All you need to know about Uganda’s newest consulate in Turkey
The Embassy of the Republic of Uganda in Turkey has officially opened up an Honorary Consulate in the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya in the South of the country.
Antalya is a Turkish resort city with a yacht-filled Old Harbor and beaches flanked by large hotels.
It’s a gateway to Turkey’s southern Mediterranean region, known as the Turquoise Coast for its blue waters.
The opening of the consulate in the city followed vetting and approval of Emek Eker as Uganda’s Honorary Consul to one of Turkey’s top tourist province of Antalya.
The launch of the Consulate was preceded by a series of exhibitions held at Hilton Hotel in Antalya that focused on promoting Uganda as a competitive investment destination in Africa as well as top tourism destination.
The event that was presided by Stephen Mubiru Uganda’s Ambassador to Turkey and attended by Kerem Alp, the Turkish Ambassador to Uganda as well as officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, renown top business CEOs of the Antalya organised industrial zone and representatives of the tourism industry of Antalya.
During the function, Ambassador Stephen Mubiru persuaded Turkish investors and tourists to make Uganda a top choice.
He further explained to them about the trade and investment opportunities that exist in Uganda in the different sectors of agriculture, education, health, ICT but also made a case for coffee and other agricultural products such as vanilla, cocoa beans that are abundant in Uganda and highly sought after in Turkey.
The event was also graced by the Deputy Mayor of Antalya, the Deputy Executive of the Antalya Chamber of Commerce as well as hundreds of guests who were treated to a Uganda Coffee cupping session and served fresh Ugandan pineapple that was specially imported for the function.
The Head of Economic and commercial diplomacy division at the Embassy Julius Mwijusya also made a detailed presentation about Uganda’s tourism, investment and trade opportunities that were made through well-crafted and translated videos that were later shared with the newly opened consulate for circulation.
Relations
Uganda and Turkey have enjoyed cordial relations for a number of years.
In 2010, Turkey opened a fully-fledged Mission in Kampala in 2010 and Uganda reciprocated by opening a mission in Ankara in 2011.
The two countries have gone ahead to cooperate in several areas including energy, education, military and defence.
In terms of education, a number of Ugandan students have gone on to get scholarships from the Turkish government in higher institutions in Turkey.
On the other side, many Turkish nationals have invested in the country whereas several other Ugandans are working in Turkey.
Both countries have also exchanged several high-level visits including presidents visiting each other’s country.
Whereas President Museveni visited Turkey in May 2010, the same was reciprocated by Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Uganda in June 2016.
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