India, Uganda review spectrum of bilateral relations

The joint secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs, Puneet R Kundal led the Indian delegation whereas the Permanent Secretary from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uganda, Bagiire Vincent Waiswa led the Ugandan delegation, the Ministry of External Affairs said in an official statement.

India and Uganda reviewed the entire spectrum of bilateral relations including political, economic, defence, trade and investment, and development partnerships as both sides held second foreign office-level consultations on Tuesday in New Delhi. The joint secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs, Puneet R Kundal led the Indian delegation whereas the Permanent Secretary from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uganda, Bagiire Vincent Waiswa led the Ugandan delegation, the Ministry of External Affairs said in an official statement.

Both delegations held talks on further bilateral cooperation in specific sectors such as forensic sciences, health, renewable energy, agro-processing and Medium and Small enterprises as well as also exchanged views on regional and multilateral issues including cooperation in UN, International Solar Alliance (ISA), East Africa Community (EAC), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), and African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). According to an official statement of MEA, Uganda was formally invited by the Indian side to join the Coalition for Disaster Resistant Infrastructure (CDRI). Both sides expressed satisfaction with the bilateral trade, which reached USD 840 billion for 2021-2022 and talked about measures to boost it further.

The Indian side commended Uganda for taking over the Non-Alignment Movement (NAM) Chairship in 2023. Additionally, the suggested 2023 date for the fourth iteration of the India-Africa Forum Summit was discussed. The next round of consultations will take place in Kampala on a mutually agreeable date, as agreed by the two countries. (ANI)