With Tanzania a key Indian Ocean Region state emerging as
economically stable, both India and China are expanding their engagement with
the SE African state. In a major step that would foster closer ties the Indian
Institute of Technology Madras became the first Indian Institute of Technology
to set up an international campus, by launching a campus in Tanzania this week.
Meanwhile, the Chinese government selected a state-owned company to negotiate a
concession to operate a line connecting Zambia’s copper-mining heartland with
the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam. India also stepped up its defence ties
with Seychelles with Indian naval ship (INS) Sharda making a port call
this week. Last week, Indian Minister of State for External Affairs visited
Mauritius to expand special ties with the Indian Ocean Region state. Meanwhile,
South Africa-Israel ties is set to deteriorate with the South African
government saying it will recall all diplomats from Israel to “signal” its
concern over the situation in Gaza. King Charles III last week said there could
be “no excuse” for British colonial atrocities against Kenyans as he
visited the country, but did not offer the apology demanded by some in the East
African nation.
IIT Madras establishes first
international campus in Tanzania’s Zanzibar
The Business Standard | 6th November 2023
The Indian Institute of Technology Madras became the first
Indian Institute of Technology to set up an international campus, by launching
a campus in Tanzania on Monday (Nov 6). India and the East African nation had
recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU).The Zanzibar Campus, IIT
Madras, will be on Zanzibar Island, off the East African mainland and part of
the Tanzanian republic. Hussein Ali Mwinyi, President of Zanzibar and Chairman
of the Revolutionary Council, inaugurated the IIT Madras Zanzibar at an event
held on Monday at the Zanzibar campus in the presence of Tanzanian officials,
Indian dignitaries, faculty, and students.
China Railway to Negotiate
Tanzania-Zambia Line Concession
Bloomberg | 1st November 2023
The Chinese government selected a state-owned company to
negotiate a concession to operate a line connecting Zambia’s copper-mining
heartland with the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam, which may require as much
as $1 billion in investment.
Indian naval ship Sharda arrives in
Seychelles with gifts of India-Seychelles friendship
Seychelles Nation | 6th November 2023
Indian naval ship (INS) Sharda is making a port
call at Victoria from Monday, November 6 to November 10, 2023, which will be
followed by joint surveillance of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) with the
Seychelles Defence Forces (SDF) from November 11 to 14, 2023. This is in
accordance with the practice between SDF and Indian Navy of undertaking
bi-annual deployment towards joint patrolling of the Seychelles’ EEZ for the
past few years, which is a significant pillar of the defence cooperation between
the two countries.
MoS Muraleedharan meets Mauritius
Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth
The Print | 2nd November 2023
Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan on
Thursday met Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth in Port Louis, expressed
gratitude to Mauritius for their active participation in G20 meetings as a
special guest. “Honored to call on Mauritius PM H. E. @KumarJugnauth in Port
Louis. Conveyed greetings of PM@narendramodi ji. Expressed gratitude to
Mauritius for their active participation in #G20 meetings as a special guest,”
MoS Muraleedharan wrote on ‘X’.
South Africa joins diplomatic
boycott of Israel over Gaza war
Al Jazeera, November 6, 2023
The South African government has said it will recall all
diplomats from Israel to “signal” its concern over the situation in Gaza.
Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, a minister in the president’s office, said on Monday that
all diplomatic staff in Tel Aviv would be called to return to Pretoria for
consultations, without providing further details. “We are … extremely concerned
at the continued killing of children and innocent civilians in the Palestinian
territories and we believe the nature of response by Israel has become one of
collective punishment,” Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor told a later press
conference.
King Charles Expresses
“Deepest Regret” Over Colonial Wrongdoings In Kenya
NDTV | 1st November 2023
King Charles III last week said there could be “no
excuse” for British colonial atrocities against Kenyans as he visited the
country, but did not offer the apology demanded by some in the East African
nation. “There were abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence
committed against Kenyans as they waged… a painful struggle for independence
and sovereignty,” Charles said at a state banquet hosted by Kenyan
President William Ruto.