A delegation of the Community of Sudanese Refugees living a working in Uganda, today visited the MoFA in the company of the Head of Mission, Uganda Embassy Khartoum/ Port Sudan.
The purpose of their visit was to consult on processes to involve the Government of Uganda in a popular festival to honor the government and people of Uganda for their noble positions towards the Sudanese Refugees.
The group who introduced themselves as the High Council for the Sudanese Community in Uganda hailed the Government for what they described as an unmatched refugee policy across Africa.
“Thank You Uganda” Festival is a purely popular event that allows the members of the Sudanese society residing in Uganda to express their gratitude and appreciation to the Ugandan people and government, particularly President Yoweri Museveni, for their support and assistance to the Sudanese people in every
possible way since they were displaced from Sudan due to insurgency.
Speaking emotionally they described how many of their relatives and friends who fled to other countries in Africa and the Middle East, have never found ease of settlement with no options to even reinvest their funds the way they have in Uganda.
The group said that the Sudanese Community in Uganda is not just organized but is also wealthy and they intend to invest in construction of schools, hospitals and other commercial real estate. In Uganda they have registered 2000 small businesses and 200 large ones.
Listing the objectives of the Festivals, they said that they wanted to
1. Thank the Ugandan people and government.
2. To support Sudanese-Ugandan communication.
3. To implement cultural and intellectual programs for the Sudanese community.
4. To showcase the significant economic activities of Sudanese companies in Uganda
Sharing a proposed program for the festival, dubbed Thank You Uganda they requested the patronage of the MoFA for this popular event which is considered one of the foundations of public diplomacy.
In his response, Amb. Rashid Yahya Ssemuddu, who was flanked by his Deputy/ HOC Dickson Ogwang, Amb. Phillip Rukikaire from the RPS department and Head PD, Margaret Kafeero, thanked the group for the initiative, reminding them of the words of H.E. the President, that they are not Refugees but brothers and sisters.
He was pleased to hear the testimonies that Uganda’s refugee policy was not just words on paper but was in practice light years ahead of many others, even in the global north.
He advised them to make a formal submission of their request through the office of the Permanent Secretary, MoF