Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uganda (3rd Right), H.E. Dr. S. Jaishankar, the Minister of External Affairs of the Republic of India (Centre), Hon. Okello Oryem, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (International Cooperation) 3rd Left, Hon. Sam Mangusho Cheptoris, Minister of Water and Environment (2nd Right), Hon. Francis Mwebesa, Minister of Trade Industry and Cooperatives (Right), H.E. Prof. Joyce Kakuramatsi Kikafunda, High Commissioner of the Republic of Uganda to India (Left) and H.E. A. Ajay Kumar High Commissioner of the Republic of India to Uganda (PHOTO/Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
India is making efforts to include concerns of the Global South in the G20 framework under its presidency, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in Uganda’s Kampala.
Jaishankar, who is on a visit to Uganda and Mozambique on Tuesday addressed members of the Parliamentary Forum on Indian Affairs in Uganda.
“We (India) are doing it differently in the sense that no other chair of G-20 made an effort to consult all the countries of the Global South and ask it saying, look, you are not on the table. So what is your interest, what are the things you want? What are your concerns that we can put on the table on your behalf? We went through this very, very detailed, very exhaustive exercise in the month of January,” he said
The External Affairs Minister also stated that India would like to use its G-20 presidency to get the influential forum focused on its mandate of global growth and development issues.
“And of course, naturally, Uganda was participant as well. And today we would like to use the G-20 presidency really to get that forum to focus on what is its remedy, what was its mandate, which is global growth and global development issues, which are very important for you. Issues of green growth, issues of debt, issues of health, issues of SDG, developmental agenda, issues of digital delivery. I think all these are really the issues on which we would like the G-20 to focus,” Jaishankar said.
India assumed the Presidency of the G20 for one year from December 1 last year. The G20 Summit will be held in New Delhi on September 9-10 this year.
External Affairs Minister reiterated India’s full support to Uganda for a very successful chairship of the Non-Alignment Movement.
Uganda was endorsed to chair the Non-Aligned Movement on behalf of Africa for the period from 2022 to 2025.
The NAM chair position rotates every three years during summit conferences. The chair of the movement is assisted by both the former and incoming chairs. According to the movement, this structure represents its past, present and future.
Jaishnkar also announced that he will participate in the inauguration of the National Forensic Research University, whose first campus is opening in Uganda.
The minister who is on a two-nation visit from April 10-15, participated in the virtual groundbreaking ceremony of solar-powered piped drinking water supply systems funded by India Exim Bank in Uganda, on Tuesday.
Taking to Twitter, Jaishankar said, “This project will provide safe and sustainable water supply to half a million Ugandans across 20 rural districts.”
Later on Jaishankar met the Indian business community in Uganda.
“Appreciated their contribution to India-Uganda bilateral relationship. Encouraged them to continue building the bridge of our business ties that capture the growth and development in the two countries,” Jaishankar said in a tweet.
On his part, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Gen. Jeje Odongo has restated that Uganda is fully committed to deepening its bilateral relations in all areas with the government of India.
Gen. Odongo also used the opportunity, “to request the Government of India to consider the request to grant landing rights to Uganda Airlines, to enable the direct exchange of goods and faster movement of travellers to/from both countries.”
He said Uganda and India share a strong relationship and had signed a number of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) in various areas of cooperation that have further consolidated and strengthened bilateral relations.
“Your visit Hon. Minister is an opportunity to further deepen our commitments with India and take them to a higher level,” Odongo said.
Odongo noted that Uganda and India have worked closely in the multilateral arena on regional and international issues.
“Furthermore, we are committed to the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in its entirety and to achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as we commence the decade of action and delivery of sustainable development, encapsulated in Uganda’s National Development Plans,” he said.
Gen. Odongo said Uganda is ready to strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation on issues of climate change, human rights, refugees and social development.
