𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭, 𝐋𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 The State House Diaspora Unit has called for stronger coordination with the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development to address challenges affecting Ugandans working and living abroad. The call was made on Monday when the Head of the State House Diaspora Unit, Senior Presidential Advisor (SPA) Mohammed Bagonza, paid a courtesy call on the Minister of State for Labour and Industrial Relations, Hon. @simonmulongo, at the ministry's offices. Bagonza congratulated Hon. Mulongo upon assuming office and pledged the Diaspora Unit's cooperation as the two institutions work to address issues affecting Ugandans abroad. He highlighted human trafficking, the mistreatment and exploitation of Ugandan migrant workers, and cases of Ugandans stranded in foreign countries among the longstanding challenges requiring stronger Government intervention. Bagonza called for closer collaboration on how human trafficking can be curbed and labour externalisation better regulated to protect Ugandan migrant workers from exploitation. He also briefed the minister on the work of the State House Diaspora Unit, including efforts to support the repatriation of Ugandans stranded abroad and bridging the information gap between Ugandans in the diaspora and Government. Bagonza further emphasised the importance of the diaspora to Uganda's socio-economic development, particularly as the country pursues its Tenfold Growth Strategy to expand the economy to US$500 billion by 2040. Hon. Mulongo welcomed the Diaspora Unit to the ministry and emphasised the need for stronger collaboration among Government agencies and other stakeholders involved in labour externalisation and diaspora affairs. He described labour externalisation as a pertinent issue that requires coordinated Government attention. “The diaspora is important for our economy; we graduate a lot of students every year, and there is a huge opportunity to exploit if we look at the advantage of the issue, especially if we are exporting skilled labour,” Mulongo said. The minister said the challenges surrounding the diaspora and labour externalisation point to the need for Government to consider a more dedicated institutional framework for handling diaspora affairs, suggesting a ministry in charge of the diaspora. He called for closer collaboration among Government institutions to address challenges relating to the diaspora, human trafficking and labour externalisation, while ensuring that Uganda is able to derive greater benefit from its citizens abroad. Bagonza was accompanied by his deputy, @HenryWabyona; Senior Presidential Advisor on Agribusiness and Value-Addition Development, Dr Hillary Musoke Kisanja; the Diaspora Unit's Liaison Officer, @TopherMatsiko; Chairperson of the United Returnees Organisation, @LydiaMwesigwa1; @hazelbamwanga from Alberta, Canada and @SKSylviaa from the Pacific Northwest (Oregon), USA. #UgandaDiaspora