ANAND MISHRA

LILONGWE, MALAWI - As part of India’s efforts to reach out to people of Malawi, Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari on Jan. 8 announced an assistance of $55 million for the southern African country.

Addressing a banquet held in his honor here, Ansari, who was on a week-long tri-nation visit to Africa, said India would like to extend a Line of Credit of $50 million for Malawi to support its development goals besides giving four million in grants for its agriculture, health and education sectors.

The Indian Vice President also announced a grant of one million dollars as emergency relief for the country following a series of earthquakes that caused loss of lives and property there. He said the ties of friendship between India and Malawi are based on same values and commitments.

President of Malawi Bingu wa Mutharika, who hosted the dinner in the honor of Ansari, recalled his association with India calling himself a “product of India”.

Mutharika, who pursued his Graduate and Masters degrees from Delhi University (in the Indian capital), spoke fondly of Punjabi Bhangra dance and Indian festivals, saying, “Sometimes I consider India as my second home.”

Ansari invited the Malawian President for a visit to India saying he would then be able to see how much the country has changed in last 40 years after his student days there.

The President also chose the occasion to seek India’s assistance in hydro-power generation and mining as well as in the area of food security in the country.

Sources said that the issue of Indian assistance in exploring the uranium mines in Malawi came up during discussions between Ansari and Malawi President in their over 40-minute closed-door discussions.

“It was discussed as part of exploring a whole range of minerals. We are interest in all types of energy minerals including coal.”

“Malawi has good mineral resources in which we are interested but there are things, which are being examined in some depth,” the Vice President had said while starting his three-nation visit on Jan. 5.

Minister of Labour and Employment Harish Rawat, who was part of the delegation that met the Malawi President, said that the latter sought India’s cooperation in power, agriculture, pharmaceuticals and capacity building.

The Malawi President said it could happen either in Public Private Partnership (PPP) or Built, Operate and Transfer (BOT) mode, Rawat added.

The Malawi President while seeking India’s cooperation in power generation in his country, said during the banquet speech that “we have wind energy, solar energy, and nuclear energy and now we have uranium.” He said Malawi has vast potential for energy generation.

He also sought India’s help in pharmaceutical industry.      (PTI)