Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Africa this week, where he will visit three countries- Rwanda, Uganda, and South Africa, and also participate in the BRICS summit. He began his trip on July 23, from Rwanda, where he held bilateral meeting with President Paul Kagame, held delegation level talks and meetings with the business and the Indian communities. India boosted its bilateral relations with Rwanda to the level of a strategic partnership in January last year.
A regular visitor in India, Kagame visited Delhi in 2017 to participate in the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2017, and later in March 2018 to participate in the Founding Conference of International Solar Alliance (ISA). Rwanda is part of India led International solar alliance and has ratified the Framework Agreement of International Solar Alliance.
$200 million lines of credit
India has extended $200 million lines of credit to Rwanda as PM Modi held wide-ranging talks with President Kagame and discussed measures to boost the bilateral strategic ties by strengthening cooperation in defence, trade, and agriculture sectors. After the one-on-one talks, Modi, the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the East African country, announced that India will soon open its mission in Rwanda. Speaking at a joint press statement, Modi said, “We are going to open a High Commission in Rwanda. This will not only establish communication between our respective governments but also enable facilities for consular, passport, visa.”
He also noted that India and Rwanda relationships have stood the test of time. Modi said, “It is a matter of honour for us that India has stood with Rwanda in their economic development journey.” Besides one-on-one meeting, the two leaders also participated in delegation level talks to strengthen partnership in trade and investment, capacity building, development partnership and people to people ties.
India extended two lines of credit, one of $100 million for development of industrial parks and Kigali special economic zone (SEZ) in Rwanda and another one for $100 million for agriculture.
Agreements on cooperation in various fields
Both the countries signed agreements on cooperation in the field of defence, trade, agriculture and animal resources. They agreed on cooperation in defence capacity building, industry, science, and technology. They also signed MoUs on collaboration in the areas of leather and allied sectors, dairy cooperation, agricultural research and education collaborations between Rwanda Agricultural Board (RAB) and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). The two countries agreed to facilitate, diversify and promote trade and economic cooperation.
In his remarks, President Kagame said that Modi's visit represents a milestone between the long standing friendship and cooperation between Rwanda and India.
200 cows to Rwanda
On Tuesday, second day of his visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifted as many as 200 cows to Rwanda during his historic visit. For those who are wondering why, gifting cows at the Rweru Model Village is a major part of Modi's programme in Rwanda and India's contribution to the host country's popular 'Girinka' scheme. The 'One cow per poor family' program is a social security scheme that is personally overseen by President Kagame. Under the scheme, the Rwandan government gifts dairy cows to the poorest families and the first female calf born to the cow is gifted to the neighbour, which helps promote brotherhood and solidarity.
According to the official website of the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Rwanda, “These goals are directly achieved through increased access to, and consumption of milk, by providing poor households with a heifer. The program is crucial to addressing the fundamental needs of those parts of the country that are critically food insecure.” It also adds, “One Cow brings nutrition, sustenance and employment, providing a stable income for a family and is a source of soil nutrients via manure to assist small scale cropping activity.”
Ministry of External Affairs' Secretary (Economic Relations) TS Tirumurti, who worked on the Rwanda visit, had called this and “important element” of the PM's programme. 'Girinka' can be translated as “have a cow” and is a centuries-old cultural practice in Rwanda.
Earlier in the day, Modi had paid a visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial and expressed India's gratitude to the Rwandan people, and acknowledged that during the genocide of 1994, no Indian as killed or injured. The memorial honours the memory of over one million Tutsis killed by the then Hutu majority government in 1994.
Modi will next travel to Uganda, and then SA, after which, he will attend the BRICS Summit. This is his second visit to mainland Africa after he visited Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, and Kenya in 2016.
