Uganda has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian government for the maintenance of the East African country’s Sukhoi fighter jets, the Indian High Commission to Uganda has announced.
“Historic India-Uganda MoU signed at Kampala for Su-30 maintenance and technical support by HAL, India. This is the first major defence agreement with Uganda following PM Modi’s unveiling of ’10 Principles of India-Africa Engagement’ in Ugandan Parliament on 25 July 2018,” the Indian High Commission in Uganda tweeted on Friday.
However, being a security matter, details pertaining the agreement have not been shared.
Uganda was in 2011 the first African country to buy Su-30 fighter-bombers from Russia.
Whereas back then, many said the acquisition was aimed at ensuring Uganda protects its oil resources, the fighter jets have been recently used in carrying out air attacks against ADF rebel camps in the thick DRC forests where ordinarily, it would be difficult for the UPDF to set foot, partly due to the terrain.
Therefore, these long-range multi-role fighter bombers have done the job to hit the required targets that were outside the range of the other existing jets.
Following the MOU, Uganda’s Su-30 fighter jets will now be serviced Hindustan Aeronautics Limited(HAL), India’s state-owned aerospace and defence company,
Established in 1940 and headquartered in Bengaluru, HAL is one of the oldest and largest aerospace and defence manufacturers in the world today.
India, Uganda ties
Uganda and India have for many years had strong bilateral relations.
Both countries cooperate in several sectors including health, ICT, infrastructure and defence among others.
In 2018, Indian Prime Minister Nerendra Modi visited Uganda to further cement the ties and became the first Indian leader to address the Ugandan parliament.
“When we were fighting colonialism, we worked together, now we’re working together to develop the third world and I’m very happy to be working with the Prime Minister of India,” President Museveni said during the visit.
The two leaders emphasised trade, investment and tourism between the two countries which were formerly colonised by Britain.
To further emphasize the close ties, following Prime Minister Modi’s visit, the Indian government has donated an assortment of vehicles and motorcycles to the UPDF.
These included 10 Tata buses, 10 Tata trucks, two Tata ambulances and 14 motorcycles.
