Uganda's beauty is unique, Museveni tells Emirates team

President Museveni meets a delegation of officials from the Emirates Airlines on January 21, 2025 to discuss the promotion of tourism in Uganda. PHOTO/PPU
What you need to know:
- The President warmly welcomed the delegation to Uganda, highlighting the uniqueness of the country’s beautiful climate.
President Museveni on Tuesday met a high-level delegation from the Emirates Airlines who paid a courtesy call on him at State House, Entebbe.
The delegation, which was led by the Emirates Country Manager for Uganda, Mr Mohamed Ahmed Taher, and the Emirates Station Manager, Ms Maureen Kabure, included Emirates offcials selected from different countries who are on a trip in Uganda to identify “Must-visit areas of tourist attraction” to be marketed to the world as the Emirates Airlines prepares to celebrate its 25 years of operations in Uganda.
The officials included Van Ty Trinh from Vietnam, Eddie Sutadharma from Indonesia, Lydia Liu and Paules Chen
from Taiwan, Pramod Rane and Manoj Chaudhari from India and Hani Abdullah from Kuwait.
Others were Shawn Selwyn Dias from Bahrain, Melki Jihed from the United Arab Emirates and Alexandra Lee Schumann from the United Kingdom.
President Museveni welcomed the delegation to Uganda, highlighting the uniqueness of the country's beautiful climate that he attributed to the country sitting on the Equator.
“There are about three countries in the whole world that have a unique climate because of the altitude and because they are on the Equator and Uganda is one of them. Some areas in Uganda are more than 1,000 metres above sea level and some are 5,000 metres above sea level and have permanent snow. The other country that has the same climate I think is Ecuador in South America,” he said.
Asked by one of the delegates why Uganda has the best coffee in the world, Mr Museveni attributed it to the favourable climate found on the Equator that supports the growth of organic crops, including coffee and fruits such as pineapples.
“I went to Washington, and they brought something like pineapple fruits, when I put it in my mouth, it had a very sour taste. Uganda has sweet pineapples. If you want good food and good climate, you are in the right place,” he assured the Emirates delegation.
Additionally, President Museveni encouraged members of the delegation to visit all areas of tourist attraction in Uganda, citing the national parks, among others. The meeting was also attended by the Minister of State for Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, Mr Bahinduka Mugarra Martin; the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, Ms Doreen Katusiime; the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Bagiire Vincent Waiswa, and Uganda’s Ambassador to the UAE Zaake W Kibedi.
The officials were also accompanied by Ambassador Elly Kamahungye from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, officials from the Uganda Embassy in UAE; Erina Zalwango and Daniel Wadada as well as officials from the Uganda Tourism Board; Pearl Houreau Kakooza, Lilly Ajarova and Daniel Irunga.
Tourism dream
In September last year, the government, under the Tourism Policy for Uganda, indicated that it would triple annual tourism earnings in the next 10 years.
The policy, which forms the bedrock of government’s legal instruments, strategies, and plans for developing the tourism sector, indicates that in the 10 years to 2033, tourism receipts will grow from $1.025b (Shs3.8 trillion) in 2023 to $3.9b (Shs14.5 trillion), by increasing tourism competitiveness and building a strong brand, promoting sustainable tourism, and facilitating public and private partnerships.