Jaishankar, Zanzibar President witness signing of agreement to set up IIT Madras campus

Zanzibar [Tanzania], July 6 : External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with President of Zanzibar Hussein Ali Mwinyi on Wednesday and also witnessed the signing of the agreement on setting up of IIT Madras campus in Zanzibar.

Jaishankar is on a four-day official visit to Tanzania, where he is set to hold high-level talks and co-chair the 10th Joint Commission Meeting with his counterpart, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a release.

Following his meeting with the President of Zanzibar, Jaishankar tweeted, "Delighted to meet President of Zanzibar Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi. Appreciated his strong commitment to stronger India-Zanzibar partnership. Our development partnership and defence cooperation are domains with which he is closely associated."

Jaishankar also witnessed the signing of agreement of setting up of IIT Madras in Zanzibar. The President of Zanzibar and his ministers were also present during the occasion.

To strengthen the education ties between the two countries, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) is opening its first-ever overseas campus in Tanzania's Zanzibar in October 2023 with a batch of 50 undergraduate students and 20 master's students, The Citizen reported.

The new IIT campus will be set up in Zanzibar under the name IIT Madras at Zanzibar. Zanzibar will be one of three campuses outside of India, with the others located in Abu Dhabi and Kuala Lumpur.

"Witnessed the signing of the agreement on setting up of @iitmadras Zanzibar campus. Appreciate President @DrHmwinyi gracing the occasion, as also the presence of his Ministers. This historic step reflects India's commitment to the Global South," Jaishankar tweeted.

India and Tanzania share close and friendly relations. In strengthening the education ties between the two countries, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) will open its first-ever overseas campus in Tanzania's Zanzibar in October 2023 with a batch of 50 undergraduate students and 20 master's students, The Citizen reported.

The new IIT campus will be set up in Zanzibar under the name IIT Madras at Zanzibar. Zanzibar will be one of three campuses outside of India, with the others located in Abu Dhabi and Kuala Lumpur.

During the visit, Jaishankar also called on the top leadership of the East African country and also attended a reception onboard Indian Naval Ship Trishul.

India and Tanzania also saw the second edition of the Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC) meeting between the two countries, which was held in Arusha on June 28 and 29, earlier this year.