On Tuesday 29th March, 2022 the Ambassador of Israel to Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi and Seychelles H.E. Michael Lotem visited Makerere University and paid a courtesy call on the Vice Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe. Ambassador Lotem was accompanied by his Deputy H.E. Dvora Dorsman Yarkoni. The call was attended by Members of Management namely; the University Librarian Assoc. Prof. Helen Byamugisha, Director Internal Audit Mr. Walter Yorac Nono, Dean of Students Mrs. Winifred Kabumbuli and the Principal College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) Assoc. Prof. Gorettie Nabanoga.

Prof. Nawangwe welcomed H.E. Lotem on his inaugural visit to Makerere University and expressed the institution’s appreciation to the Government and people of Israel for the longstanding collaboration in the form of the Agrostudies Internship programme. Makerere is the coordinating institution for the programme in East and Southern Africa.

“With Uganda being a country whose economy is still very much agriculture-based, this kind of training is extremely important for us because it directly impacts on the knowledge that our farmers would require to improve their agricultural practices… our population is growing very fast, the country is already densely populated and we are told this population is likely to double in the next 30 years. And so we need to learn how to increase productivity of the limited land” remarked Prof. Nawangwe.

The Vice Chancellor expressed Makerere‘s desire to expand collaboration with Israeli Universities especially in areas such as production of electric vehicles and IT-related fields such as Artificial Intelligence among others. He added that Makerere is a comprehensive university that undertakes research in virtually all disciplines.

Contributing to the discussion, Assoc. Prof. Nabanoga shared that her college has received back over 200 graduates of the Agrostudies and was desirous of setting up a demonstration site at the Makerere University Agricultural Research Institute Kabanyolo (MUARIK). The site, she noted, would act as a platform for the returning interns to practice the skills they learnt in Israel, and pass them on to peers who didn’t have the chance to attend the programme. Currently, over 60% of returning students are engaged in farming as a business and various agriculture-related activities.

Acknowledging the warm welcome, H.E. Lotem said the way forward on expanding collaboration would be for Makerere to specify particular areas of interest and where available, previous research publications that can be referred to. He further informed the meeting that the Israeli Embassy in Nairobi is planning to hold a seminar in September or October 2022 that will bring together various actors from East African Countries as well as the U.S.A, China, Turkey, Russia among others. Participants will discuss politics, security, economic development and a host of other topical issues.

The seminar, said the Ambassador, will bring on board Israeli academia to help them better understand the East African region, as there are not too many experts on East Africa in Israel. “We will invite you to participate,” graciously offered H.E. Lotem, adding that “this will be a venue to meet with Israeli counterparts from different institutions.”

The Vice Chancellor thanked the Ambassador for his visit and offer to help deepen collaboration between the University and Israeli institutions. He presented an assortment of branded souvenirs to the Ambassador and Deputy Ambassador and invited the Diplomats to attend the climax of Makerere‘s year-long celebration of 100 years of impactful existence on 8th October 2022.