Officials from the Office of the President (diaspora affairs) have commenced talks with a team from Facebook aimed at enhancing revenue sharing and tax collection.

During the meeting, Uganda was represented by Isaac Kigozi, the head of trade and investment in the diaspora affairs section of the Office of the President, while Facebook was represented by Julie Wenah, the associate general counsel, Facebook Global.

The meeting happened on the sidelines of the three-day 2nd Annual Africon Conference that brings together global Black diaspora people from the music, food, innovation, activism and education backgrounds.

The event, which coincides with Africa Day, aims to celebrate the diversity of Africa and the diaspora through entertainment, media, technology and leadership.

“We have had a fruitful meeting with the associate general counsel of Facebook Global. The meeting was aimed at initiating discussions that would enhance the setting up of a mechanism to ensure revenue sharing and tax collection,” Kigozi said.

The Ugandan official also held a meeting with Ukonwa Ojo, the global chief marketing officer Amazon Prime Video & Amazon Studios, as well as TJ Adeshola, the head of global content partnerships at Twitter.

The conference, which took place in Los Angeles, California in the US, attracted prominent blacks across the globe.

The senior presidential advisor on diaspora, Abbey Walusimbi, said President Yoweri Museveni was ready to discuss the future of a united African diaspora with the event organisers.

“On behalf of the President of Uganda, I welcome you all and seek that we enjoy responsibly and network around what we can do together, especially for our children.

Africa is now the future of the world. We are the food basket of the world. We are the source of all minerals in the world and all industries survive because of Africa.

“I trust that you know that Africa must become great again. To achieve this, we must do it collectively by finding a problem to solve. As you know, everything was destroyed when colonialists arrived and ruled Africa. We lost our formulas to them, including artefacts and our documented history about our great specialisation,” Walusimbi said.

The ambassador stressed the need for all Africans in the diaspora to participate and be part of a united Africa economically, socially and politically.

“Kindly come back home with the 21st century skills and opportunities so that we rebuild the foundation of Africa, your motherland. We are created special, talented and we do not give up. Our resilience is unmatched and we are the original people created by God,” Walusimbi said.

Main Speakers

Kigozi, Travis Adkins (chief executive officer US African Development Foundation) and Temwa Gondwe( senior manager Intra-African Trade Initiative at AFREXIMBANK), were among the people who spoke at the event.

The other notable guests were Ava Hall (former BET International boss), Omotola Jalade Ekeinde (actress), Abdul Abdullah (founder of Afrochella Festival) and Tunde Ogundipe (general manager African music strategy and culture, Sony).

-The New Vision

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