Rwanda is key to Africa: Modi
New Delhi/Kigali (Rwanda), July 24 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that Rwanda is the key to Africa.
Prime Minister Modi was addressing the India-Rwanda Business Forum jointly organised by Ficci and the Rwanda Development Board in Kigali.
Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda, in his address at the forum said that his administration is willing to address any bottleneck such as visa issues to further strengthen trade relations between the two countries.
At present, India is amongst the top trade, investment and development partner of Rwanda.
"Over the past decade, Rwanda has been hailed as a rising star of Africa and is one of the fastest growing economies," a Ficci statement said.
Rwanda ranks second in Africa in terms of competitiveness as per the Global competitiveness report of World Economic Forum 2017-18.
Ficci President Rashesh Shah said that India considers Rwanda a serious strategic partner in Africa.
"Rwanda is a rising star in the Africa growth story which resonates well with India. Trade between India and Rwanda has crossed $100 million. We expect that to cross $1 billion in the next few years," Shah was quoted as saying in the statement.
He added: "There are plenty of opportunities in both the countries. Ficci as the apex chamber and the Indian industry would support wholeheartedly in harnessing the potential."
Shah who is also Chairman and CEO, Edelweiss Group, led an over 100-member strong Indian business delegation to Rwanda.
Apart from the business forum and B2B meetings, several MoUs were signed on this occasion between RDB and Ficci, RDB and Avaada Power and others.
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Prashant Kishor denied entry into ancestral village of Nitish Kumar
Bihar Sharif (Bihar), May 18 (PTI): Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor was on Sunday stopped by the administration from entering Kalyan Bigha, the ancestral village of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, where he wanted to interact with locals during his visit to Nalanda district.
Kishor, who wanted to launch his party's signature campaign demanding answers on "unfulfilled" government promises from the ancestral village of the CM, was stopped by the district administration and security personnel from entering the village. Kishor and his party workers wanted a face-to-face interaction with the residents of Kalyan Bigha.
Officials maintained that the Jan Suraaj Party did not seek prior permission to hold such a gathering at Kalyan Bigha.
"The Jan Suraaj Party had sought permission to hold a public meeting in Bihar Sharif (district headquarters of Nalanda) on May 18…the district administration had given them permission. The party had not sought permission for holding such an event at Kalyan Bigha…that was the reason they were not allowed to enter the village," Nalanda District Magistrate, Shashank Shubhankar, told PTI.
"Holding public meetings at a particular place requires a lot of preparations by the district administration, including police. That is the reason prior permission is mandatory for such gatherings. Since they had been given permission to hold the public meeting on May 18 in Bihar Sharif only,... They were asked to go to the place in Bihar Sharif for which the permission had been granted," said the DM.
Interacting with media persons, where he was stopped, Kishor said he wanted to interact with locals but was stopped.
"I wanted to interact with locals to see the situation in Kalyan Bigha, the ancestral village of the CM. But I am not being allowed. This is the government of Nitish Kumar. Earlier, they stopped Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from holding an interaction programme with students in Darbhanga. Now, they are doing it with me."
In a verbal exchange with officials of the district administration, Kishor was heard saying, "Will you stop me from entering the village ? Do I need permission to visit the village ? I want you to give it in writing, and then I will return. We are law-abiding people..."
The SDM was heard saying, "You need permission as there might be a law-and-order situation. People have filed a complaint."
Later, Prashant Kishor went to Bihar Sharif and addressed the gathering and also launched the signature campaign. The party launched a signature campaign demanding answers on "unfulfilled" government promises.
The signature campaign will focus on three points – what happened to the Nitish government's promise of giving Rs 2 lakh each to the 94 lakh poor families, 3 decimal of land to the Mahadalit families and corruption in the ongoing land survey.
Earlier, Kishor had said that a Jan Suraaj Party delegation would collect signatures from one crore people across 40,000 villages in the state till July 11.
The signatures would then be submitted to the governor and the CM if the government "failed" to disclose within a month the status of delivering Rs 2 lakh to each of the 94 lakh poor families identified in the caste survey and of providing land to the landless.
