Uganda’s President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has asked India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to allow the revived Uganda Airlines to fly directly from Entebbe to Mumbai.

In discussions with Modi on Tuesday, July 24, Museveni emphasised the need to co-operate in tourism, trade and investment. “We should encourage more Indians to tour Uganda and, in the process, bring dollars here. To promote this, I have asked His Excellency Modi to allow our revived Uganda Airlines to fly direct to Mumbai,” said Museveni.

To support tourism, Modi said: “We will build a Gandhi Heritage Centre at the sacred site in Uganda’s Jinja, where a statue of Mahatma Gandhi now stands.”

The Mumbai route, if certified, will be operated by one of the two Uganda Airlines’ new A330 -800Neo aircraft. The airline recently purchased four CRJ-900s, and on July 18 signed a memorandum of understanding for two A330-800neo aircraft at the Farnborough Airshow. On July 25, the carrier announced that it would start taking delivery of its aircraft in 2019, with the first of the four CRJ-900s arriving in January, followed by the remaining three over the following three months. The two A330-800s would be delivered in 2020.

The non-stop flight would take hours off the Entebbe-Mumbai journey, which currently involves one or more stopovers in Kigali, Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Dubai and other Asian and European cities.

The Indian Prime Minister, who was on a two-day visit to Uganda, has yet to respond to Museveni’s request.