Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated Uganda on successfully hosting the 19th Non-Aligned Movement and the G77 summit in Kampala.

In his special message delivered by the Russian Ambassador to Uganda, Vladlen Semivolos, President Putin further congratulated President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni upon assuming the chairmanship of the NAM for the next three years.

The message was delivered to Henry Okello Oryem, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in charge of International Affairs, on Wednesday, January 24, 2024.

“The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs held a bilateral meeting with the Ambassador of Russia to Uganda, H.E. Vladlen, at the Ministry Headquarters in Kampala. The ambassador had come to convey a congratulatory message to President Museveni upon successfully hosting the two summits and assuming the chairmanship of NAM and G77,” the Foreign Affairs Ministry said.

Uganda took over the leadership of NAM from H.E. Ilham Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, during the 19th NAM Heads of State and Government summit held at Speke Resort Convention Centre, Munyonyo.

In his maiden speech as the Chairman of NAM, President Museveni informed the Heads of State and Heads of Delegations that Uganda’s stand is that the world should concentrate on the common human problems: prosperity through trade, the advance of science and technology to deal with human problems, the environment, crime, and terrorism. He said such ideas are in line with the Bandung Principles, a basis on which NAM was formed.

“It is on these principles that NAM was founded. We, the resistance fighters of Uganda, can attest that by synthesizing the package of ideas, we have gotten very good results,” Museveni said.

Russia-Uganda relations are bilateral foreign relations between the two countries, courtesy of a diplomatic relationship established with Uganda on October 11–12, 1962.

In 1964, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and Uganda signed a trade agreement and an agreement on economic and technical cooperation.