The Ministry of Works and Transport, in coordination with the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development, is currently carrying out a training of professional drivers ahead of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit, slated for January 2024.

The trainees are to drive delegates and NAM officials while in Uganda for the 5-day summit scheduled for January 15–20, 2024.

The training commenced on Tuesday, November 7, 2023, at Heritage Park in Garuga, where the first batch of 125 drivers, were selected from the Ministry of Works, Statehouse, Uganda Electoral Commission, Ministry of Health, the Uganda police forces, and the Ministry of Defense and Veteran Affairs.

According to Bageya Waiswa, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry, this is the first of 8 batches that will undergo training to ensure that there are no mishaps in transport during the NAM and G77+China summits.

“Discipline and stress control are of great emphasis at this training, and it will involve 1001 professional drivers, who will be trained in 8 batches, each taking at least four days of training,” Bageya added.

Uganda will be chairing NAM till 2027, having taken over from Azerbaijan. It will attract over 3000 foreign nationals to Uganda under the theme “Deepening Cooperation for Shared Global Affluence”.

NAM was founded in 1961 with the view of advancing the interests of developing countries in the context of Cold War confrontations. Currently, NAM consists of 120 states, covering 55% of the world’s population, making it the second largest political gathering after the UN General Assembly, where all 193 UN member states have an equal voice.