24-Jul-2018: PM gifts cows to villagers at Rweru Model Village, as part of the Rwandan Government's Girinka Programme
Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifted 200 cows to villagers who do not yet own a cow, under the Rwandan Government's Girinka Programme. The function to mark the handing over of cows was held at Rweru Model Village, in the presence of Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister appreciated the Girinka Programme, and President Paul Kagame's initiative in this regard. 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. He spoke of the similarity in rural life in the two countries. He said that the Girinka Programme will help transform villages in Rwanda.
Background: The word Girinka signifies a centuries-old cultural practice in Rwanda whereby a cow was given by one person to another, as a sign of respect and gratitude. Girinka was initiated by President Paul 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. The program is based on the premise that providing a dairy cow to poor Girinka Programme transforms livelihoods, reconciles communities improving agricultural productivity through the use of manure as fertilizers which would lead to improving soil quality and reducing erosion through the planting of grasses and trees.
Since its introduction in 2006 hundreds of thousands have received cows through the Girinka program. By June 2016, a total of 248,566 cows had been distributed to poor households.
The program has contributed to an increase in agricultural production in Rwanda - especially milk production and products, reduced malnutrition and increased incomes. The program also aimed at promoting unity and reconciliation among Rwandans based on the cultural principle that if a cow is given from one person to another, it establishes trust and respect between the giver and beneficiary. While this was not an original goal of Girinka, it has evolved to become a significant aspect of the program. The program also follows a certain criteria in choosing who the beneficiaries should be. As per a Govt. of Rwanda official, they mainly look at those very poor vulnerable families that don't own a cow but do have land that can be used to grow grass for feeding the cows. The beneficiary should be in position to construct an animal shed or willing to join others in community to construct a communal cow shed to be jointly used with the rest.
21-Feb-2017: India, Rwanda ink deals to boost aviation and innovation
India and Rwanda signed three MoUs on innovation, aviation and visa requirements on Monday during Vice President Hamid Ansari’s visit to the East African country. The three MoUs will boost economic and business ties.
Both countries will mutually exempt visa requirements of diplomatic and official passport holders for smooth air travel.
Vice President Hamid Ansari who is on a five-day visit to Rwanda launched the India-Rwanda innovation growth programme in Kigali to boost ties in areas of science & technology, innovation and aviation.
India-Rwanda Innovation Growth Program is being launched to expand ties in science, Technology and Innovation. After this pilot project, the programme is proposed to be implemented in the East African community in seven countries and will then be scaled up to seven other economic zones across Africa. Under the programme, 20 demonstrated and validated Indian technologies and innovations are expected to be adopted over a period of two years.
The joint ventures created with Rwandan partners can deliver many sustainable social enterprises that will stimulate economic development in Rwanda. The programme aims at creating an ecosystem wherein Indian innovations and technology enterprises will thrive and encourage business ventures from both sides.
21-Feb-2018: India offers $1 million cyclone rehabilitation aid to Tonga.
India has contributed USD one million for the rehabilitation efforts in Tonga after the Tropical Cyclone Gita caused massive destruction in the Pacific island nation.
India has allocated USD 500,000 in the India-UN Development Partnership Fund for the rehabilitation efforts while USD 500,000 will be provided for immediate relief assistance.
In the spirit of South-South cooperation, which emphasizes partner government ownership, following the assessment of the damages caused and priorities needing support, the Government of Tonga will identify the rehabilitation projects to be supported through the India-UN Development Partnership Fund.
The India-UN Development Partnership Fund is supported and led by the Government of India and managed by the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation.
The Fund supports Southern-owned and led, demand-driven, transformational sustainable development projects across the developing world, with a focus on least developed countries and small island developing states.
Since its establishment on June 8, 2017, the USD 100 million fund has identified 15 developmental projects for financial support worth USD 6 million.
The first project under the fund focuses on climate early warning systems in Pacific Island countries including the Cook Islands, the Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Nauru, the Solomon Islands and the Kingdom of Tonga.
The project aims to increase resilience from natural disasters of these seven Pacific island countries and contribute toward the Sustainable Development Goal of Climate Action.
Last year, following devastation caused by the hurricanes Irma and Maria, India provided a sum of USD 2 million for rehabilitation projects in Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica through the India-UN Development Partnership Fund.
4-Jan-2018: US puts Pakistan on Special Watch List for severe violations of religious freedom.
The US has placed Pakistan on a 'Special Watch List' for "severe violations" of religious freedom making it the only country to be put under the newly-formed list.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced re-designation of 10 countries as 'Countries of Particular Concern' (CPC). The Special Watch List is for countries that engage in or tolerate severe violations of religious freedom but may not rise to the level of the CPC.
In far too many places around the globe, people continue to be persecuted, unjustly prosecuted, or imprisoned for exercising their right to freedom of religion or belief. Today, a number of governments infringe upon individuals' ability to adopt, change, or renounce their religion or belief, worship in accordance with their religion or beliefs, or be free from coercion to practice a particular religion or belief.
In accordance with the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, Secretary of State annually designates governments that have engaged in or tolerated systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom as 'Countries of Particular Concern'.
The Secretary of State re-designated Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan as Countries of Particular Concern on December 22, 2017.
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has been advocating for designating Pakistan as a CPC since 2002. It has argued that the government of Pakistan continues "to perpetrate and tolerate systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations. Religiously discriminatory constitutional provisions and legislation, such as the country's blasphemy and anti-Ahmadiyya laws, continue to result in prosecutions and imprisonments".
Pakistan continues to harass its religious minorities, has state-sanctioned discrimination against groups such as the Ahmadis, and tolerates extra-judicial violence in the guise of opposing blasphemy.