The Tanzania province of Zanzibar will host the first overseas campus of the leading Indian Institute of Technology, which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says will enhance India’s reputation for South-South cooperation.
A memorandum of understanding for the establishment of the IIT Madras Zanzibar Campus was signed between the two ministries of education and IIT Madras on July 5, in the presence of Zanzibar President Hussein Ali Mwini and Minister of Foreign Affairs. S. Jaishankar said.
Zanzibar is an archipelago off the coast of East Africa that merged with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is a semi-autonomous province of Tanzania.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the move was a first step towards internationalization of education in India. “This initiative embodies Prime Minister @narendramodi’s commitment to strengthen South-South cooperation and strengthen people-to-people ties with Africa. This is the heart of our bilateral relationship and advancing our global interests,” he tweeted.
- This agreement formalizes the educational partnership between the two parties and provides a framework within which the parties can detail the creation of the campus.
The Department of State said, “This unique partnership will bring IIT-M’s leading education expertise to Africa’s premier destination and respond to the region’s current and urgent needs.”