Yoweri Museveni, the president of Uganda, said that Uganda is seeking Russia’s assistance in expanding its space-research capabilities.

Museveni held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday, who is on a four-nation tour in Africa.

“We have talked of cooperating in space, space science; Uganda would like a small satellite to see what is happening around the globe, then nuclear energy,” Museveni told reporters, at State House in Entebbe, southwest of the capital, Kampala.

This is one of many space technology partnerships Uganda seeks with Russia. At the 2019 Russia–Africa Summit, Museveni met with the host President, Vladimir Putin, and other leaders from Russia and Africa to discuss opportunities for collaboration in space research and technology.

In June 2022, Uganda announced that it would launch its first satellite, PearlAfricaSat-1, into low Earth orbit from the International Space Station in collaboration with the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) by September this year.

With this feat and future partnerships, Uganda is closer to realising many of its ambitions in space and space technologies.