PM Modi in Kampala: India emerging as global manufacturing hub

Kampala, July 25: India is emerging as a global manufacturing and start-up hub and many of the 'Made-in-India' products, including cars and smartphones, are today exported to nations from whom the country used to import, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday.

Addressing the Indian diaspora in the Ugandan capital, Prime Minister Modi also said that rail tracks, metro train coaches and satellites are being manufactured today in India itself by using Indian steel.

"India is becoming a manufacturing hub," Modi told the Indian community event which was also attended by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.

Noting that Samsung recently opened the world's biggest mobile phone manufacturing plant in Uttar Pradesh, Modi said, "It's possible that when you buy a smartphone in Uganda next time, you will get the one Made in India."

"Make in India today has become the hallmark of India. Many of our products, including cars, smart phones, are sold today to countries from whom we used to import," the Prime Minister said amid applause.

He said 11,000 start ups have been registered in India in the last four years, making the country a land of start-ups.

Modi also hailed India's ties with Uganda and other African nations, saying the resource-rich continent is now in the centre of his government's foreign policy.

The Prime Minister also said India will open 18 new embassies, taking the total number of the country's missions in Africa to 47.

Noting that the trade between India and Africa has witnessed a 32 per cent increase, Modi said Asia and Africa are better positioned in the new world order. Modi reiterated India's commitment to provide USD 10 billion to Africa.

He lauded the contribution of the Indian community in the growth of Uganda, but also recalled the hardship faced by them in 1970s when some of them were forced to leave the country.

The Prime Minister thanked President Museveni for re-embracing the Indian community.

Modi also recalled his trip to Uganda as Gujarat chief minister in 2007 and said the memory of that visit was still afresh. President Museveni also spoke on the occasion and lauded the contribution of the Indian community in the country's growth.

Modi arrived in Kampala this evening on a two-day visit to Uganda - the first bilateral tour by an Indian prime minister since 1997.

PTI