Janine Cocker, the Head of Cooperation at the Canada High Commission in Nairobi recently paid a courtesy call to the Economic Policy Research Centre and its researchers to understand the Centre’s research reach and how it feeds into both national and global development agendas.
Cocker, who takes care of Kenya, Somalia, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, was on an introductory trip to Uganda to learn more about Canadian partnerships and the Kampala’s political economy.
She hailed the meeting with EPRC as “quite frank” and showed “more optimism about the challenges the country is going through especially during the pandemic.”
The diplomat sought to understand different research works that the Centre undertakes and how they feed into the development agenda of the country as well as the global development goals. The discussion also touched the region’s recovery prospects from the pandemic.
EPRC researchers and Canadian diplomats after a courtesy meeting. EPRC photo
Dr. Ibrahim Kasirye, the EPRC Director of Research, Dr. Francis Mwesigye, a Senior Research Fellow, and Paul Corti Lakuma, a Research Fellow attended the meeting which took place on November 5, 2021.
The EPRC has a strong partnership with Canadian institutions, and in particular with the International Development Research Centre.
Dr. Kasirye applauded the partnerships the EPRC has had with Canadian institutions over the years.
He said: “Since 2009, EPRC has received funding from the IDRC Canada with appreciable impact on the policy discourse. For example, using funding from IDRC’s Think Tank Initiative (TTI), operational during 2009-2019, EPRC established a research department on Trade and Regional Integration, which has been very instrumental in providing technical support to various ministries during the preparations for trade negotiations.”
He added that “more recent support from IDRC to EPRC has supported the research examining the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on livelihoods as well as prospects for Uganda’s fiscal balance.”
Cocker thanked the EPRC for the useful discussion.