KAMPALA: The African nation of Uganda maintains good relations with Russia for defence purposes, just like India. In Uganda, rich in oil resources, the military uses Russian weapons mainly to counter separatists. However, as Russia got busy with the Ukraine war, Uganda has sought India’s assistance for meeting its defence needs. The country has approached India for maintenance and technical support of the Sukhoi SU-MK30 fighter jets which it bought from Russia 11 years ago. Uganda had inked an agreement with India regarding the same, on March 4, at the Indian High Commission at Kampala.

India’s state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, which has a manufacturing license for Sukhoi SU-MK30 from Russia, had prompted Uganda to choose India for the deal. The agreement’s financial details are confidential and have not been released. The Independent, a Ugandan daily, was the first to report the deal. Reports had earlier suggested that the Ugandan government had used the Sukhoi fighter jets to counter separatists, last year.

Uganda was the first African country to purchase the Russian Su-30 combat jets in 2011. Russia enjoys great influence in the African countries. About 17 African countries had abstained from voting against the Russian invasion at the United Nations (UN). Russia is the biggest exporter of weaponry to African since 2017 and accounts for 44 percent of Africa’s major defense imports.

India-Uganda Relations

The bilateral ties between India and Uganda has strengthened in the recent years. This might have prompted Uganda to rely on India for maintenance support. In 2018, Narendra Modi became the first Indian prime minister to visit Uganda in over 20 years. Following the visit, both countries had agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in defense.