Uganda hails Iran over technology

By Raymond Baguma                                            

Uganda has hailed Iran for making progress in industrialization as well as scientific and technological innovation in spite of economic sanctions that have been imposed on the country.

The state minister for foreign affairs in charge of regional cooperation Asuman Kiyingi was on Friday speaking at the celebration of the national day of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The Iranian embassy in Uganda marked 33 years of the Islamic revolution with a cocktail at Sheraton Hotel, Kampala.

The day is marked to commemorate the 1979 uprising led by Imam Khomeini which led to the overthrow of the regime of Shah, leading to the consequent establishment of an Islamic republic.

Present at the cocktail were diplomats from foreign missions in Uganda, Iranians living and working in Uganda, ministry of foreign affairs officials as well as Muslim clerics in Uganda.

“In 2011, Iran was named the 26th largest economy in the world, with impressive figures in ICT access and coverage. As a country that puts a premium on value addition, Uganda is impressed by the progress Iran has made in industrialization as well as scientific and technological innovation,” minister Kiyingi said.

He hailed the Iranian government for the US$1.5 million grant to Uganda, which is funding the construction of the first phase of the Uganda Police Force hospital in Naguru which commenced in June last year.

Kiyingi added that there was need to expand the bilateral relations between the two countries to cover trade and investment and encouraged Iranian tourists to Uganda.

The Iranian ambassador to Uganda, Ali Akbar Dabiran said that Uganda holds a special position in Iran's foreign policy, which is demonstrated by previous visits of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his predecessor Akbar Rafsanjani.