Zanzibar president to visit Barefoot College on India trip

African women being trained as solar power engineers in the Barefoot College in Tilonia, Rajasthan state, India. (Foto: The Barefoot College)

New Delhi : President Ali Mohamed Shein of Tanzania's semi-autonomous region Zanzibar visits India Feb 1-9 and one of his important engagements, besides official talks in New Delhi, would be a visit to the Barefoot College in Rajasthan's Tilonia, that has taught 100 women from his country to make solar lamps.

Shein, who is arriving on an official visit at the invitation of Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari, would be leading a delegation of senior ministers and officials.

On Feb 3, delegation level talks will be held and the Tanzanian leader is expected to meet President Pranab Mukherjee and some cabinet ministers in Delhi, said an official statement.

"Impressed by the skills of the Zanzibari rural women in assembling, installing and maintaining solar lamps for providing electric power to nearly 100 homes in rural Zanzibar after their training under India's ITEC programme, Shein and his delegation will be visiting the Barefoot College, Tilonia, with a view to establish similar training facilities in Zanzibar," said the statement.

He is also likely to visit Hyderabad, Bangalore and Mumbai for meeting with industry/business leaders and members of the Tanzanian community.

India and Zanzibar in East Africa enjoy historically close relationship, marked by centuries-old presence of Indian diaspora in Zanzibar islands. Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, 50 km off the coast of the mainland, consists of two large islands and numerous small ones.

The Zanzibar president's visit to India, nearly a decade after such a visit by his predecessor, is expected to strengthen the development partnership between India and Zanzibar, within the framework of India's close bilateral relationship with the Tanzania, said the official statement.

Source: twocircles.net