Speaker of Parliament Jacob Marksons Oboth has called for a more structured approach to parliamentary diplomacy, urging MPs involved in international engagements to return with lessons, partnerships and opportunities that benefit Uganda.
Oboth made the remarks on Tuesday, 29 September 2026 as Parliament resumed plenary after recess, saying international parliamentary engagements should go beyond visits and formal meetings to produce tangible outcomes for the country.
He said Parliament was working to strengthen friendship groups with selected countries, beginning with Australia, India and the United Kingdom, while Japan and Germany were also being considered.
“We are not competing with Foreign Affairs, neither are we competing with the government. We are only complementing and supplementing,” Oboth said.
He said Parliament would continue to work through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when establishing international relationships, noting that some countries require government clearance before parliamentary engagements can proceed.
Oboth said he also expected MPs to participate in parliamentary friendship groups so that the relationships could be used to secure opportunities such as scholarships, legislative exchanges and investment.
“We expect them to put up a list of registration that at least every member belongs to one parliamentary friendship group,” he said.
The Speaker said Parliament was also preparing a framework, including a memorandum of understanding, to guide the relationships and ensure that they produce measurable benefits.
He cited the Australia-Uganda parliamentary friendship group, whose members recently returned from an exchange visit, as an example of the potential benefits of parliamentary diplomacy.
“One of the reports should be coming this week, especially the Australia-Uganda group,” Oboth said, adding that the report would highlight areas where the two Parliaments could cooperate.
Earlier, Oboth told MPs that during the recess he had met the Speaker of the UK House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, to strengthen relations between the two Parliaments.
He also attended the 69th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Cape Town, South Africa, where he held bilateral discussions with Pakistan’s National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on cooperation in trade, education, agricultural research, climate change and capacity building.
Oboth said Parliament’s international engagements should complement Uganda’s wider diplomatic efforts.
He urged MPs involved in international parliamentary bodies and friendship groups to “go to learn, go to share, go to build relationships” and return with lessons that strengthen Parliament and benefit the country.
Kassanda County North MP Hon. Patrick Nsamba Oshabe recommended that Parliament establishes a database of commitments made during international engagements.
Nsamba said MPs were often unaware of commitments made at different international forums, making it difficult for them to consistently represent Uganda’s interests.
Oboth said the proposed approach would help coordinate the engagements while ensuring Parliament remained aligned with Government’s foreign policy.
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