From Kampala to New Delhi: Uganda, new India-Africa spirit

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When India hosts the Fourth India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS-IV) from May 28-31, 2026, in New Delhi, it will be far more than just another diplomatic gathering.

It will mark an opportunity to reinvigorate a partnership rooted in shared history, strengthened through practical co-operation, and increasingly shaped by a strategic vision for the future.

The summit’s theme — IA SPIRIT: India Africa Strategic Partnership for Innovation, Resilience and Inclusive Transformation — captures the present requirements of both India and Africa.

The world is facing supply-chain disruption, climate stress, health insecurity, digital divides and pressure on multilateral institutions. India and Africa are, therefore, engaging as two major centres of the Global South with complementary development journeys and a shared interest in a more representative global order.

Since 2008, the India-Africa Forum Summit has provided the apex institutional framework for this engagement. After summits in New Delhi (IAFS-I in 2008), Addis Ababa (IAFS-II in 2011), and again New Delhi (IAFS-III in 2015), IAFS-IV comes after a decade, when the relationship has expanded into a compact covering trade, investment, digital public infrastructure, agriculture, health, education, defence, maritime security, climate action and people-to-people ties.

The scale is significant. India-Africa merchandise trade is above $80b. Around 196 Indian lines of credit worth $12b have supported various projects across 42 African countries.

Tens of thousands of scholarships and training slots have been offered to African partners. India’s support for the African Union’s permanent membership of the G20 and African representation in a reformed United Nations Security Council show that the partnership is political, not merely transactional.

Uganda has a special place in this journey. It was in the Parliament of Uganda in July 2018 that Prime Minister Narendra Modi articulated the 10 guiding principles for India’s engagement with Africa, including that Africa will remain at the top of India’s priorities and that India’s development partnership will be guided by African priorities.

Underscoring the special relationship between the two countries, Jayant Chaudhary, India’s Union Minister of State (independent charge) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, represented the people of India and the prime minister of India at the swearing-in and inauguration ceremonies of the President of Uganda on May 12.

India-Uganda relations are rooted in history and have acquired depth across political, economic, defence, education, health, cultural and tourism sectors.

India established its diplomatic presence in Uganda in 1965. The Indian community in Uganda remains a strong bridge of commerce and people-to-people contact, with important contributions in manufacturing, agro-processing, banking, sugar, real estate, tourism, IT and healthcare.

The partnership has also become institution-driven. The National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) campus in Jinja, India’s first overseas NFSU campus, is a flagship example. Its programmes in forensic sciences, homeland security, cyber security and digital forensics directly reflect IAFS-IV’s emphasis on innovation, resilience and inclusive transformation.

Defence co-operation through Indian training support at Uganda’s Senior Command and Staff College, Kimaka, and Indian Technical Economic and Co-operation capacity-building scholarships for Ugandan personnel further demonstrates long-term capacity building.

Commercial ties have matured, though they remain below potential. India-Uganda trade crossed $1b in 2022 and 2023. Uganda also benefits from India’s Duty-Free Tariff Preference Scheme for Least Developed Countries.

Recent trade missions, the India Trade Show in Kampala, the Joint Trade Committee meeting, and Ugandan ministerial participation in India-Africa business platforms point to a practical agenda in pharmaceuticals, healthcare, agriculture, vehicles, digital services and manufacturing.

At IAFS-IV, Uganda’s participation will matter across tracks: the senior officials’ meeting on May 28, the foreign ministers’ meeting on May 29, the leaders’ summit on May 31, and the India-Africa Business Dialogue and Exhibition, Track 2 Dialogue and cultural events. For Uganda, the summit is an opportunity to convert political goodwill into trade, technology, skills, health, education and investment outcomes.

For India, Uganda is a trusted East African partner, a Non-Aligned Movement chair, a regional gateway and a living example of India-Africa co-operation on the ground.

IAFS-IV should be seen, therefore, not as an isolated summit, but as a platform for the next decade of India-Uganda and India-Africa co-operation — one based on shared priorities, mutual respect and practical delivery.

The writer is the High Commissioner of India to Uganda