India plans to open 18 new embassies in Africa, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, in the latest sign that the Asian state is seeking to strengthen its presence on the continent.
Mr Modi made the announcement during a speech in the Ugandan parliament – the first by a serving Indian prime minister.
India currently has 29 full diplomatic missions in Africa, AFP news agency quotes officials as saying.
Mr Modi welcomed President Yoweri Museveni’s policy of encouraging Ugandan Asians to return following the expulsion of many of them during the rule of Idi Amin in the 1970s.
“Our people are among the many threads that connect Uganda and India together,” Mr Modi said.
“Your visionary leadership has enabled Ugandan people of Indian origin to return to their cherished home, regain their lives and help rebuild the nation that they deeply love,” he told Mr Museveni.
