India, Rwanda review bilateral ties, sign 8 MoUs
New Delhi, July 24 : India and Rwanda reviewed their entire gamut of bilateral ties and signed eight agreements across different sectors during the course of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to the East African nation, the External Affairs Ministry said on Tuesday.
"During the talks, both leaders reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation and expressed satisfaction at the excellent relations between Rwanda and India in the overall context of Strategic Partnership," the ministry said in a statement following delegation-level talks chaired by Modi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Kigali on Monday.
Ties between India and Rwanda were elevated to that of a Strategic Partnerhsip in January last year.
According to the statement, Modi highlighted the fact that Rwanda would house the first of the 18 new resident Indian missions to be opened in Africa in 2018 and this underlined the importance attached by India to its relations with Rwanda.
Stating that India and Rwanda were looking forward to further elevate their ties, Modi, while addressing the media with Kagame following Monday's talks, said: "This (opening the new mission) will not only facilitate close communication among our governments, it will also help in consular, passport, visa and other facilities."
Agreements in the area of trade, defence, dairy cooperation, agriculture, culture, leather and allied sectors and two lines of credit worth $200 million for expansion of the special economic zone and irrigation scheme were signed.
"Prime Minister appreciated the effective utilisation of $400 million lines of credit extended to Rwanda in the last few years," the ministry statement said.
In his address, Modi appreciated the steps for peace that have been adopted in Rwanda following the mass genocide in that country in 1994.
Around 500,000 to one million people were killed in the mass genocide against the Tutsi people by the majority Hutu government of that time.
"For us, it is a matter pride that India is a trusted development partner of Rwanda," Modi said.
"We have been helping Rwanda in capacity building, infrastructure development and ICT," he said.
According to the ministry statement, Modi complemented President Kagame for the important role played by him as African Union Chair in finalising the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement that has been signed by 44 countries as of March 21, 2018.
"He expressed hope that his leadership will guide the African Union in furthering economic integration of the continent," it stated.
"He indicated India's willingness to continue to strengthen relations with African Union."
Following the talks, Modi also interacted with the Indian community in Rwanda and invited them to visit India for the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas to be held in January 2019.
Members of the Indian community of neighbouring states had also travelled for this interaction with the Prime Minister.
On Tuesday, the second and concluding day of his visit, Modi visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial honouring the memory of the 1994 genocide victims and laid a wreath there.
Thereafter, he visited the Rwera model village and gifted 200 diary cows to the villagers as part of the Rwandan government's Girinka programme for economic development.
Girinka was initiated by President Kagame in response to the alarmingly high rate of childhood malnutrition and as a way to accelerate poverty reduction and integrate livestock and crop farming.
Speaking on the occasion, Modi appreciated the Girinka programme, and Kagame's initiative in this regard.
According to the External Affairs Ministry, he said people in India too would be pleasantly surprised to see the cow being given such importance as a means of economic empowerment in villages, in faraway Rwanda.
The Prime Minister also announced gifting of 100,000 books of the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT) books, setting up of the Entrepreneurship Development Centre in Kigali which would provide training to youth of Rwanda for enhancing their skills in a variety of sectors, fully funded 25 slots for short-term training in the field of dairy production and processing, contribution of $10,000 each to the Kigali Genocide Memorial and the Imbuto Foundation run by the First Lady of Rwanda towards the education of the girl child.
Modi later addressed the India-Rwanda Business and called for boosting economic ties between the two countries.
"Our nations can do a lot together," he said. "There are several opportunities in rural development and small scale industries."
He said that though India is growing exponentially, "our mantra is 'sabka saath sabka vikas'".
"We will grow but we will also help those grow, who are with us," the Prime Minister said. "We will walk together."
Modi reached Rwanda on Monday in the first leg of his five-day, three-nation tour of Africa that will also take him to Uganda and South Africa.
This was the first ever Prime Ministrial visit from India to Rwanda.
This is also Modi's second visit to mainland Africa after he visited Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya in 2016.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Lebanon sees deadliest day of conflict since 2006 as Israeli strikes kill 492
Marjayoun (Lebanon) (AP): Israeli strikes on Lebanon Monday killed more than 490 people, including more than 90 women and children, Lebanese authorities said, in the deadliest barrage since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war. The Israeli military warned residents in southern and eastern Lebanon to evacuate ahead of its widening air campaign against Hezbollah.
Thousands of Lebanese fled the south, and the main highway out of the southern port city of Sidon was jammed with cars heading toward Beirut in the biggest exodus since 2006.
Lebanon's health ministry said the strikes killed 492 people, including 35 children and 58 women, and wounded 1,645 people — a staggering one-day toll for a country still reeling from a deadly attack on communication devices last week.
The death toll far surpassed that of Beirut's devastating port explosion in 2020, when hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse detonated, killing at least 218 people and wounding more than 6,000.
In a recorded message, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Lebanese civilians to heed Israeli calls to evacuate, saying “take this warning seriously.”
“Please get out of harm's way now,” Netanyahu said. “Once our operation is finished, you can come back safely to your homes.”
Israel's military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said the army will do “whatever is necessary” to push Hezbollah from Lebanon's border with Israel.
Hagari claimed Monday's widespread airstrikes had inflicted heavy damage on Hezbollah. But he would not give a timeline for the ongoing operation and said Israel was prepared to launch a ground invasion of Lebanon if needed.
“We are not looking for wars. We are looking to take down the threats,” he said. “We will do whatever is necessary to do to achieve this mission. We hope to do it as shortly as we can.”
Hagari said Hezbollah has launched some 9,000 rockets and drones into Israel since last October, including 250 on Monday alone.
The military spokesman said Israeli warplanes struck 1,300 Hezbollah targets Monday, destroying cruise missiles, long- and short-range rockets and attack drones. He said many were hidden in residential areas, showing photos of what he said were weapons hidden in private homes.
“Hezbollah has turned southern Lebanon into a war zone,” he told a news conference.
Israel estimates Hezbollah has some 150,000 rockets and missiles, including guided missiles and long-range projectiles capable of striking anywhere in Israel.
