On October 16, 2018 a solemn ceremony was held in Kampala to name one of the streets after Yuri Gagarin, the first person to fly into space

On October 16, 2018 a solemn ceremony was held in Kampala to name one of the streets after Yuri Gagarin, the first person to fly into space.

Minister for Kampala Capital City Authority Betty Kamya opened the ceremony as the main host of the event and noted with pleasure that the Ugandan President’s request to name a street in Kampala after a Soviet cosmonaut was completed in such a short time. The chairperson of the Ugandan part of the intergovernmental commission for economic, scientific and technical cooperation Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Uganda Henry Okello Oryem emphasized the merits of Yuri Gagarin to all mankind and mentioned some facts of his biography.

The initial idea to name one of the streets of the Ugandan capital after Yuri Gagarin belongs to Deputy Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation Alexey Volin. During the ceremony he noted the symbolism and significance of this event given actively developing bilateral ties between Russia and Uganda. Russian Ambassador to Uganda Alexander Polyakov thanked the Ugandan side for the high level of organization of the celebration.

A memorial plaque in honor of the first cosmonaut of the Earth was presented during the ceremony. It was made by Russian sculptor Peter Mavshov on request of the Peacemaker International Security Centre and will be installed on Yuri Gagarin Road in Kampala.