IPNEWS: The Vice President of the Republic of Liberia Chief Dr Jewel Howard-Taylor has visited Kampala, Uganda from June 14th to 17th, 2021, to explore investment opportunities for Liberia.
In Kampala, Madam Vice President called for economic cooperation between Liberia and Uganda in the areas of trade, industrialization and infrastructural development.
The Vice President also toured the Kampala Industrial and Business Park at Namve- the largest industrial hub in Uganda, sitting on 26,000 hectares of land.
The industrial park has attracted over 400 investors for development in various sub-sectors to include agro processing, mineral processing, ICT, logistics and tourism among others.
The Liberia Vice President laid emphasis on the need to collaborate with Uganda on the establishment of a Steel Industry considering Liberia’s comparative advantage of over 4 billion tons of Iron Ore deposits compared to Uganda’s 400 million tons of Iron Ore deposits.
She intimated that Liberia has the ability to supply the entire Africa with Steel based on its deposits of Iron Ore.
VP Howard-Taylor also held discussions with Consortium of Joada Consults and Development Infrastructure to finalize arrangements on the construction of about 5,000 to 10, 000 housing units in Liberia, with the ground-breaking expected in July, 2021.
She commended the investment group for choosing Liberia as an investment destination while emphasized the significance of the Project.
Vice President Howard-Taylor has meanwhile officially dedicated the newly constructed Headquarters of the Consortium of Joada Consults and Development Infrastructure.
He used the occasion to commend the institution for creating jobs and contributing to Uganda and Africa economic development.
At the same time, Vice President Howard-Taylor paid a courtesy call on His Excellency Yuweri Musevini, President of the Republic of Uganda.
The meeting centered on how Liberia can achieve economic independence, leveraging on the wealth of experience from President Musevini.
Playing more of a listening role, Vice President Howard-Taylor recognized President Musevini as one of the Fathers on the African continent and applauded his historical involvements during the liberation struggle.
For his part, President Musevini asserted that Liberia can achieve economic independence and rapid growth if attention is given to five sectors.
He identified sectors as commercial agriculture, industries/ factories, services (education, health, transport, banks, etc), ICT and public service ( decentralization and local government).
The meeting was very educative as President Musevini explained the historical antecedents which occasioned the political and economic independence of African Nations.
Madam Vice President is a champion of the African Continental Free Trade Area ( AfCFTA) as a major boost of African economies.
She believes Africa is the last Economic Frontier Zone with 40 percent of the World’s natural resources and the fastest growing population globally; which provides an opportunity for intra- Africa trade.
