Jaishankar visits Kiduthani project that will provide drinking water to 30 000 households in Zanzibar

Zanzibar, Jul 6 (PTI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday visited the Kiduthani project that will provide drinking water to 30,000 households in Zanzibar - one of six projects undertaken by India that will provide drinking water access to the local population.
    Jaishankar, who arrived in Zanzibar on a two-day official visit on Wednesday, said the project is similar to the 'Jal Jeevan Mission' - a programme aimed at providing safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections by 2024 to all households in rural India.
    "Visited the Kiduthani project that will provide drinking water to 30,000 households in Zanzibar. The six projects we are building will give drinking water access to a million Zanzibaris. The local enthusiasm for our efforts was palpable. Similar to Jal Jeevan Mission in India," Jaishankar tweeted.
    "'Delivered by India', is a reality today across Africa. It is visibly improving the ease of living for so many," he added.
    During a deck reception onboard INS Trishul along with President of Zanzibar Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi on Wednesday, Jaishankar said that it was a great privilege to share with Zanzibar India's experiences in the field of water development. "It's been a very big challenge for us."
    "Today, one of our key development programmes has been the 'Jal Jeevan mission'... it's a massive pan-Indian project and for us what we are doing with you is a natural extrapolation of what we are doing in India, and we are very privileged to partner with you in that," Jaishankar said.
    He also said that permanent participation of the African Union has also been proposed and should be considered by members of the G20.
    The minister will visit the Dar-es-Salaam city of Tanzania from July 7-8, where he will co-chair the 10th India-Tanzania Joint Commission Meeting with his counterpart and call on the country’s top leadership, including several Cabinet rank Ministers.
    During the visit, he will meet with the members of the Parliamentary Friendship Group for India and inaugurate an India-Tanzania business meeting. He will also inaugurate the bust of Swami Vivekananda in Dar-es-Salaam.
    India and Tanzania have traditionally enjoyed close and friendly relations.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)