The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) is a

cabinet-level A cabinet is a body of high-ranking state officials, typically consisting of the executive branch's top leaders. Members of a cabinet are usually called cabinet ministers or secretaries. The function of a cabinet varies: in some countrie ...

government ministry responsible for the implementation and management of

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

foreign policy A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...

and international activity.

Location

The headquarters of the ministry are located at 2A Colville Street, on Nakasero Hill, in the Central Division of

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

, the capital and largest city of Uganda. The coordinates of the headquarters are: 0°18'55.0"N, 32°35'06.0"E (Latitude:0.315267; Longitude:32.584990).

Overview

The history of the ministry dates to the independence of Uganda on 9 October 1962. Initially, it was administratively under the Office of the Prime Minister. In 1971, it became a fully fledged ministry. In 1966, the position of State Minister for International Affairs was created, and in 1988 the position of State Minister for Regional Affairs was added.

Political leadership

As of October 2016,

Sam Kutesa Sam Kahamba Kutesa (born 1 February 1949) is a Ugandan politician, businessman and lawyer involved in several corruption cases. By the marriage of his daughter Charlotte Kutesa Muhoozi with Muhoozi he is part of the inner circle of president Mu ...

is the

minister of foreign affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

. He has held this position since 2005. The state minister for international affairs has been

Henry Oryem Okello Henry Oryem Okello is a Ugandan lawyer and politician. He is the current State Minister for Foreign Affairs (International Affairs). He was appointed to that position in 2004. In the cabinet reshuffles of 1 June 2006, that of 16 February 2009 ...

since 2005. Since 1 March 2015, Philemon Mateke has been the state minister for regional affairs.

Organizational structure

Administratively, the ministry is divided into the Directorate of International Cooperation and the Directorate of Regional Cooperation. It also has the following departments: * Department of Finance and Administration, which is responsible for financial and administrative matters. * Department of Internal Audit, which is responsible for risk assessment and the design of mitigating strategies. The department "is responsible in ensuring that all systems, controls, regulations and procedures are adequate and effective". * Resource Centre, which is responsible for communications, public and media relations,

information and communications technology Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals) and computers, ...

issues, training and follow-up of ministerial and ambassador conferences, and related matters. * Department of the African Union, which is responsible for designing, implementing, and coordinating the execution of the national policy towards the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...

. * Department of Diaspora Services, which is responsible for developing, executing, and monitoring policies affecting Ugandans living and working outside of the country. It was created in 2007. * Department of Asia and Pacific Region, which is responsible for the development, implementation, and coordination of policies and programs regarding relations with the countries of Asia, the

Pacific Rim The Pacific Rim comprises the lands around the rim of the Pacific Ocean. The ''Pacific Basin'' includes the Pacific Rim and the islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Rim roughly overlaps with the geologic Pacific Ring of Fire. List of co ...

, and the Pacific Ocean. * Department of East African Community and Ring States Department, which is responsible for developing, implementing, and coordinating government policies and programs towards the countries of the

East African Community The East African Community (EAC) is an intergovernmental organisation composed of seven countries in the Great Lakes region of East Africa: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Republic of Tanzania, the Republics of Kenya, Burun ...

, the

International Conference on the Great Lakes Region International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), French: ''Conférence Internationale sur la Région des Grands Lacs (CIRGL)'', is an intergovernmental organization of African countries in the African Great Lakes region The African ...

, and the

Intergovernmental Authority on Development The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is an eight-country trade bloc in Africa. It includes governments from the Horn of Africa, Nile Valley and the African Great Lakes. It is headquartered in Djibouti. Member states ;Horn of ...

. * Department of European Relations, which is responsible for formulating, implementing, and coordinating Uganda's relations with European countries.

References

External links

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

{{Authority control *

Foreign Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

Foreign relations of Uganda