The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Modi said the healthcare investment would be in form of a modern cancer therapy machine. “The machine will not only benefit Uganda but other East African countries.”
The two countries also signed a defence pact which will see Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) get training from India’s Ministry of Defence.
Modi also travelled with a 60-member delegation of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). These signed bilateral agreements with the Ugandan government in the areas of trade, tourism and investment.
The CII is a body whose primary goal is to develop industry in India and abroad for the growth and development of the Indian nation.
Modi extended credit worth $200million to boost investments in several sectors of Uganda’s economy, including energy, infrastructure, agro processing.
India is a key trading partner of Uganda and the value of exports to India in the last five years has grown from $15million to $43million, according to statistics from Bank of Uganda.
On the other hand, the value of imports from India to Uganda has ranged from $1.2billion to $600million in the last five years.
The imports trend indicates a sharp decline and analysts say Modi visited the country to open up more markets for India’s fast growing economy which has been overtaken by its Asian rival, China as a trading partner to Uganda.
The Indian Prime Minister was on a five-day tour of three African nations; he visited Rwanda before Uganda and attended a BRICS summit in South Africa. BRICS is an acronym for the five global emerging markets. It was the first time an Indian prime minister was visiting Rwanda and Uganda.
