Modi departs on three-nation Africa tour (Lead)

New Delhi July 23 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday left for Rwanda on the first leg of his five-day three-nation tour of Africa that will also take him to Uganda and South Africa.
"Embarking on a momentous journey to strengthen our historical bond with Africa " External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweetetd.
This will be the first ever prime ministerial visit from India to Rwanda.
From Rwanda Modi will reach Uganda on July 24 in what will be the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister to that country in 21 years.
From Uganda the Prime Minister will reach South Africa on July 25 where he will attend this year s Brazil Russia India China South Africa (BRICS) Summit.
"India shares close warm and friendly relations with Africa which are cemented by robust development partnership and a large presence of the Indian diaspora " the Prime Minister s Office said in a pre-departure statement.
"A number of agreements and MoUs in the areas of defence trade culture agriculture and dairy cooperation are scheduled to be signed during the visit " it stated.
This is Modi s second official visit to mainland Africa after he visited Mozambique South Africa Tanzania and Kenya in 2016.

--IANS ab/mr