KAMPALA – Parliament approved a request by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs calling on the Ministry of Finance to avail Shs5b within the budget to establish a consulate in Seoul-South Korea.
The decision by Parliament followed a recommendation made by the Budget Committee that highlighted that South Korea is funding quite a number of projects in the Country and was one of the first countries to establish an embassy in Uganda but the relations haven’t been reciprocated by Uganda.
“The Committee recommends that the government seeks the support of the Committee to securing Shs5b to be able to establish an Embassy in South Korea,” read in part the report.
Parliament in its report on the 2020/2021 national budget framework paper also called on the Finance Ministry to avail Shs8b to the Foreign Affairs Ministry for the construction of Uganda House Case in Nairobi that had stalled the project but was recently concluded with a consent Judgment.
The Budget Committee also observed that over time Uganda’s foreign policy is changing towards the promotion of economic and commercial diplomacy.
However, this activity has remained unfunded, with the committee recommending to have additional funds of Shs8Bn given to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to roll out commercial and economic diplomacy to an additional four key strategic missions should be provided for this activity. These include Turkey Shs2b, Abu Dhabi Shs.2b, Malaysia Shs2b and Canada Shs2b.
