PM Modi in Uganda
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that India is fast emerging as a global manufacturing hub.
Addressing members of India diaspora in kampala, Uganda, PM Modi said that India is now exporting smartphones and cars to those countries from whom it used to import these items in the past.
The prime minister said that India has contributed to the social development of Africa in the past and now it is now contributing to the economic development of the continent.
Prime Minister Modi also said that rail tracks, metro train coaches and satellites are being manufactured today in India itself by using Indian steel.
"India is becoming a manufacturing hub," Modi told the Indian community event which was also attended by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.
Noting that Samsung recently opened the world's biggest mobile phone manufacturing plant in Uttar Pradesh, Modi said, "It's possible that when you buy a smartphone in Uganda next time, you will get the one Made in India."
"Make in India today has become the hallmark of India. Many of our products, including cars, smart phones, are sold today to countries from whom we used to import," the Prime Minister said amid applause.
He said 11,000 start ups have been registered in India in the last four years, making the country a land of start-ups.
Modi also hailed India's ties with Uganda and other African nations, saying the resource-rich continent is now in the centre of his government's foreign policy.
The Prime Minister also said India will open 18 new embassies, taking the total number of the country's missions in Africa to 47.
Noting that the trade between India and Africa has witnessed a 32 per cent increase, Modi said Asia and Africa are better positioned in the new world order.
Modi reiterated India's commitment to provide USD 10 billion to Africa.
He lauded the contribution of the Indian community in the growth of Uganda, but also recalled the hardship faced by them in 1970s when some of them were forced to leave the country.
The Prime Minister thanked President Museveni for re-embracing the Indian community.
Modi also recalled his trip to Uganda as Gujarat chief minister in 2007 and said the memory of that visit was still afresh.
President Museveni also spoke on the occasion and lauded the contribution of the Indian community in the country's growth.
Modi arrived in Kampala this evening on a two-day visit to Uganda - the first bilateral tour by an Indian prime minister since 1997.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is currently in Uganda as part of his three-nation Africa tour, which will culminate at the BRICS summit in South Africa. In the first leg of his journey, the prime minister visited Rwanda, where he inked eight MoUs. PM Modi also extended a line of credit worth USD 200 million and gifted 200 cows to the country.
The PM, who reached Uganda earlier today, met with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and agreed to boost bilateral cooperation in the areas of economy and defence with the nation. PM Modi will address the Uganda Parliament tomorrow, before heading off to South Africa's Johannesburg for the BRICS Summit.This is the first Prime Ministerial visit from India to Uganda in over 20 years.
Watch: PM Modi addresses Indian diaspora in Uganda
(With PTI inputs)
