Uganda, India Discuss Advancing Rural Power Transmission

President Yoweri Museveni met with the Indian Minister of State for External and Parliamentary Affairs Shri Muraleedharan with whom they hashed over means to ramp up rural electrification in Uganda.

"In my meeting with India's Minister of State for External Affairs Shri Vellamvelly Muraleedharan at State House Entebbe, we agreed to a partnership to provide affordable solar power and promote rural power transmission in Uganda," the president tweeted Thursday evening.

Muraleedharan made his first trip to Kampala yesterday and Museveni hailed him for coming to boost ties with Uganda and India.

"I thank Shri Vellamvelly Muraleedharan for the visit and pledge Uganda’s continued friendship with the Republic of India, its people, and the Indian Community in Uganda," the president tweeted.

Uganda and India bilateral relations were initiated in 1965 and New Delhi's High Commission in Kampala has concurrent accreditation to Burundi and Rwanda.

Uganda hosts a large Indian community and India–Uganda relations cover a broad range of sectors including political, economic, commercial, cultural and scientific cooperation.

A number of high-level visits have been made between Kampala and New Delhi, with the latest being Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 2018 trip to Uganda.

President Museveni has been to India twice, in 1992 and 2008.

According to the Indian government, Muraleedharan will travel to Kigali after his two-day stay in Kampala.

The minister will also meet the Ugandan business community and the Indian community in Uganda.

" India enjoys friendly and cordial relations with both Uganda and Rwanda. Our bilateral relations with both the countries have been further buttressed by the vibrant Indian community," reads a statement released by New Delhi.

"Over the years, India has been at the forefront in providing assistance in capacity building, training and developmental projects. The visit by MoS will impart a fresh momentum in our bilateral ties with both these countries