Tanzania: Jaishankar visits Kiduthani project; to provide drinking water to 30,000 households

Zanzibar [Tanzania], July 6 : Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar visited the Kiduthani project in Tanzania's Zanzibar on Thursday, which will be providing drinking water to 30,000 households in the city.

Jaishankar is on a four-day official visit to Tanzania from July 5-8, 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.

Drawing comparison with 'Jal Jeevan Mission' in India, MEA Jaishankar said that 'Delivered by India', is a reality today across Africa.

"Visited the Kiduthani project that will provide drinking water to 30,000 households in Zanzibar. The six projects we are building will give drinking water access to a million Zanzibaris. The local enthusiasm for our efforts was palpable. Similar to Jal Jeevan Mission in India. 'Delivered by India', is a reality today across Africa. It is visibly improving the ease of living for so many," Jaishankar said on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1676974887129305091?s=20

Jaishankar also visited the stone town in Zanzibar and went to the Arya Samaj and Shri Shiv Shakti temples.

"Visited the Stone Town in Zanzibar and experienced its distinctive Gujarat connection. Blessed to visit the Arya Samaj and Shri Shiv Shakti mandirs there. This time-tested confluence of Africa and India is emerging as a statement of our contemporary partnership," Jaishankar said in a tweet.

https://twitter.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1676981803964407808?s=20

Earlier in the day, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for setting up of campus of IIT Madras in Zanzibar- Tanzania was signed on Thursday between the Ministry of Education (MoE), Govt of India, IIT Madras and the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT) Zanzibar- Tanzania, in the presence of S Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister of India and Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi, President of Zanzibar.

This is the first ever IIT campus to be set up outside India. It is reflective of the longstanding friendship between India and Tanzania and a reminder of the focus India places on building people-to-people ties across Africa and the Global South, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a release.

On Wednesday, MEA Jaishankar met with Zanzibar President Hussein Ali Mwinyi on Wednesday and also witnessed the signing of the agreement on setting up of IIT Madras campus in Zanzibar.

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.