INVC NEWSRwanda,
The Vice President of India M. Hamid Ansari has said that the imperatives of our shared history and cultural links; our complementary strengths and capacities that make us natural economic and commercial partners; our common approach in meeting development challenges towards building a sustainable future; our cooperation from a shared perspective on addressing peace and security related issues; and a convergence of views on matters global drive African-Indian engagement which based on our shared challenges, common interests, and perceptions of mutual benefit. He was delivering lecture at the University of Rwanda on ‘Rwanda, India and Africa: Imperatives for Cooperation’, in Kigali, Rwanda, today. The Minister of Education, Rwanda, Dr. Musafiri Papias Malimba and the Chancellor of the University of Rwanda, Dr Mike O’Neal were present on the occasion.
The Vice President said that the youth today would have the wisdom to avoid the follies and limitations of the past and look forward instead to a future for our world in which the operative principle would be cooperation rather than contention and the objective would be mutual benefit rather than selfish greed. He complimented the people of Rwanda on the impressive signs of development and progress evident everywhere and added that this has been possible due to the foresight and sagacious vision of the leadership and the hard work of the people. He further said that India sees itself as a strong development partner to Rwanda.
Quoting the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, the Vice President said that India and Africa had ‘a strong emotional link’ defined by our shared history of struggle against colonialism and our aspiration to bring prosperity to our people. Our approach has not been one of demanding privileges or rights to projects, but rather a desire to contribute to the achievement of Africa’s development objectives as they are established by Africans themselves, he added.
The Vice President said that India has also sought to develop innovative mechanisms such as our concessional Lines of Credit tailored to the requirements and capacities of our partners in Africa, so that they do not become another channel leading them into a debt trap. He further said that in a time when the global political and economic situation is marked by uncertainty and upheavals the need for developing economies to cooperate and consult in a new spirit of solidarity assumes renewed significance. The great potential in this relationship provides both India and our African partners an opportunity to benefit significantly from its enlargement, he added.
