The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has announced that Tanzania’s Zanzibar will be home to the first-ever Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campus outside of India.
This agreement was inked on Wednesday in the presence of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Zanzibar’s President Hussein Ali Mwinyi. Jaishakar is on a four-day visit to Tanzania.
According to the MEA, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed to establish a campus of IIT Madras in Zanzibar, an archipelago situated off the East African coast and part of Tanzania.
“The first IIT campus to be set up outside India will be in Zanzibar,” the MEA said. It said an MoU was signed between the India’s education ministry, IIT Madras and Zanzibar’s ministry of education and vocational training.
This move signifies a significant expansion of the prestigious IIT system beyond Indian borders, fostering educational collaboration and opportunities in the region.
“This campus is reflective of the longstanding friendship between India and Tanzania and a reminder of the focus India places on building people to people ties across Africa and the Global South,” the MEA said.
“Recognising the strategic partnership between Tanzania and India, the relationship of educational partnership has been formalised by signing the document which provides the framework for the parties to detail out the setting up of the proposed campus of IIT Madras in Zanzibar-Tanzania, with plans to launch programmes in October 2023,” the MEA said.
It said the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 recommends that “high performing Indian universities will be encouraged to set up campuses in other countries”.
The campus, named IIT Madras at Zanzibar, is set to commence operations in October 2023 and will initially admit 50 undergraduate students and 20 master’s students. Zanzibar will become one of three international campuses for IIT, alongside Abu Dhabi and Kuala Lumpur.
Earlier this year, India and Tanzania held the second edition of the Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC) meeting in Arusha, Tanzania, on June 28 and 29. During the meeting, the two countries engaged in discussions aimed at strengthening security in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).The Ministry of Defence issued a statement highlighting the focus on enhancing cooperation in this strategic maritime area.
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Updated: 06 Jul 2023, 10:47 AM IST