London, United Kingdom - Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda, Hon. Jacob Marksons Oboth, has held talks with the Speaker of the UK House of Commons, Hon. Sir Lindsay Hoyle, in a bid to forge closer ties between the two legislatures.

The meeting held in London on Thursday, 17 September 2026, forms part of Speaker Oboth's broader agenda to reset the systems, structures and operations of Parliament of Uganda, an institution whose administrative framework and practices were historically modelled on the House of Commons.

Since assuming office, Speaker Oboth has championed a programme aimed at restoring Parliament to what he describes as its original purpose, practices, and systems. In seeking out the House of Commons, Oboth pointed to the UK Parliament's long institutional history as a source of lessons and inspiration for the reforms currently under way in the Parliament of Uganda.

"This is about consolidating our efforts to reset, revive and rejuvenate the management and affairs of the Parliament of Uganda," Oboth said.

Beyond institutional reform, the visit is also pitched as an exercise in parliamentary diplomacy, intended to deepen a relationship between the two parliaments that stretches back decades.

Oboth said the goal was to build mutual benefit through staff and member exchanges, attachments and benchmarking programmes between the two institutions.

He went further calling for an inter-parliamentary network that could support bilateral interests spanning education, trade and mining, areas he said hold significant potential for cooperation between Uganda and the UK.

"Such parliamentary relations should be strengthened to a level that brings the two parliaments and the two nations closer in jointly pursuing shared interests," Oboth said.

Speaker Hoyle congratulated Oboth on his elevation to the third office of the land, describing him as visionary and praised his approach to parliamentary leadership. He confirmed that the UK Parliament was willing to support and help drive inter-parliamentary diplomacy between the two countries going forward.

Hoyle also framed the engagement within a wider Commonwealth context, saying such diplomacy should serve as a vehicle to preserve and strengthen the Commonwealth family.

He expressed hope that the process could eventually help bring African nations together as a unified bloc within the Commonwealth, pursuing a shared agenda.

The meeting is expected to be the first of several steps toward a formal cooperation framework between the two parliaments, with officials on both sides signalling openness to further exchanges in the areas of governance, trade and education.