H.E Prof. Joyce Kakuramatsi Kikafunda addressed second edition of the Pravasi Gujarati Party on the theme “Escaping Tyranny they Migrated to Opportunity”.

This year’s Pravasi Gujarati Party memorialized 52 years of the expulsion of Asians from Uganda in 1972. In her remarks, the High Commissioner informed that the expulsion of Indians for alleged ‘economic sabotage’ was purely the work of one misguided individual, General Idi Amin Dada and did not reflect the will of the Ugandans who were comfortable living and working side by side with the Asian communities. As a result, when NRM took over government in 1986, they undertook specific policy measures aimed at not only revitalizing the economy but to set a strong foundation for growth and transformation. Key among these policies was the return of Asian properties through the Departed Asian Property Custodian Board (DAPCB) which has since returned 2,440 properties to their rightful owners.

Prof. Kikafunda further underscored the mutually beneficial bilateral relations between Uganda and India, highlighting several development cooperation initiatives including the establishment of National Forensic Sciences University Jinja, the first ever overseas campus of NFSU but also India’s very first campus abroad for any public academic institution. NFSU – Jinja was inaugurated on 12th April, 2023, by the Third Deputy Prime Minister of Uganda, Hon. Lukia Isanga Nakadama and Dr. S. Jaishankar, the Hon’ble External Affairs Minister of India.

The High Commissioner recalled the promise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to assist Africa’s development with no strings attached and serve as the voice of the Global South. The fulfilment of this promise, she noted, was evidenced in India leveraging its presidency to successfully lobby for the admission of the AU as a full member of the G-20 during the Summit in New Delhi in September 2023.

H.E Prof. Joyce Kakuramatsi Kikafunda concluded her remarks by extending an invitation to the Gujarati business community to visit and invest in Uganda.