The United States has pledged to deepen cooperation with Uganda in health, trade, technology, energy and security, with its top diplomat in Kampala describing the bilateral relationship as being at its strongest point.Mikael Cleverley, the US Embassy chargé d’affaires in Kampala, said Washington was keen to broaden cooperation with Uganda while encouraging more American companies to invest in the country.“We have political will on both sides to do more together. So we are instructed from Washington to broaden the cooperation, and we have an open door here with the Ugandan government, indicating interest in doing as much as we can together,” Cleverley said.He was speaking on September 24 at an event where the US Embassy in Kampala marked 250 years of US independence. Cleverley said the focus was now on taking the relationship “to the next level”, particularly through commercial diplomacy, health and security cooperation.“Certainly, commercial diplomacy is our big priority. The two countries are also exploring cooperation in regional and global peace and security,” he said.$2.3bn health partnershipCleverley highlighted the new $2.3 billion Uganda-US health cooperation memorandum of understanding, describing it as a departure from the traditional donor-funded health model.Under the five-year arrangement, the US is expected to contribute $1.7 billion, with the Ugandan government providing the balance.The new model is intended to give the Ugandan government greater leadership and management responsibility for health programmes while linking US assistance to performance and outcomes.The programmes are expected to be increasingly managed by Ugandan institutions from one year to the next.“What’s different about this new way of doing work on the health side is that it involves a type of partnership with the Ugandan government that hasn’t existed before, in as much as we will be providing direct leadership with the Ugandan government on the programmes,” Cleverley said.The partnership will also bring together programmes that have traditionally operated separately, including HIV, tuberculosis, malaria and global health security.“We had HIV programmes over here, TB programmes here, malaria, and global health security. These are all integrated into the same programme,” he said.A joint health steering committee, co-led by Cleverley and the minister of Health, will provide strategic direction for the programme. The US hopes the arrangement will strengthen the Ministry of Health and other Ugandan health institutions.“It will be all about outcomes. It will be very impactful. And what we hope to see over the course of this also is a really strengthened, empowered ministry of Health and Ugandan health institutions,” he said.US firms eye UgandaCleverley pointed to recent American commercial engagements in Uganda, including the entry of Starlink and investments involving major companies, as signs of growing interest in the Ugandan market.He said such investments could encourage more American companies to explore opportunities in the country.“We want the types of investments that create opportunities here, that add value, that advance the tenfold growth strategy of the government, that can target some of the growth sectors as well,” he said.He cited technology, tourism and connectivity as areas where American companies could support Uganda’s economic ambitions.Cleverley said companies such as Boeing could improve Uganda’s connectivity to international markets, while Starlink could extend internet access to remote areas.The US embassy, he said, was working with Uganda’s ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ugandan diplomatic missions in Washington and New York to promote trade and investment between the two countries.He said the embassy’s role was to identify opportunities, explain the Ugandan market to American businesses and help reduce investment risks.At the same time, Cleverley said Uganda needed transparent and level-playing-field markets to attract American investors competing globally for investment opportunities.Health, minerals and energyCleverley said the US also sees opportunities for American companies to contribute to Uganda’s development through technology, health, infrastructure, energy and the minerals sector.He cited Abbott, which recently supplied diagnostic equipment to rural health facilities, allowing patients to receive test results within about an hour.“We’d like to see more of that in the health sector. We’d love to see US companies in the mineral sector, in the energy sector, because these are also all parts of the Ugandan government’s strategy,” he said.Ebola travel restrictionsCleverley also addressed concerns over continued US travel restrictions affecting Ugandans despite Uganda being declared Ebola-free. He said the restrictions were determined and periodically reviewed in Washington rather than by the US embassy in Kampala.“I can say that in Washington they do re-evaluate them periodically, and they’re looking at the broader region as well,” he said.Cleverley praised Uganda’s response to the Ebola outbreak, saying the country’s institutions had done an “outstanding job” in early detection, treatment and management of cases.He, however, pointed to the Ebola situation in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, saying Washington was also concerned about the risk of international spread.“The embassy wanted travel between Uganda and the US to return to normal as soon as possible. Our goal is to be back to where we were as soon as possible,” he said.The post US pledges deeper health, investment ties with Uganda appeared first on The Observer Media Ltd.