Posted on 09/16/2004 7:46:11 AM PDT by CarrotAndStick
Taking its 'Focus Africa' policy forward, India on Thursday announced a 50 million dollar assistance to connect 53 African countries through satellite and fibre optic network.
"Yesterday I had a discussion with my Prime Minister. In honour of Indo-Pan African partnership, our Government has decided to provide seamless and integrated satellite fibre optics and wireless network connecting 53 African countries for tele-education, tele-medicine and e-services," President APJ Abdul Kalam said in a historic address to Pan-African Parliament session of African Union.
The network would connect five universities, 53 learning centres, ten super specialty hospitals and 53 patient-end locations in rural areas.
It would cost 50 million dollars for installation, initial opening and maintenance for three years.
Kalam said that he considered the union, uniting about 3000 distinct national communities, as harbinger of hope not only for the members of the African Union but for the whole world.
The President, who is on a four-day visit to South Africa, said Indo-Pan African joint team could make comprehensive proposals and prepare a roadmap for speedy and smooth implementation of connectivity.
Oh great! Now we will have even more solicitations for assitance in recovering those stashed millions!
Buddy-the picture that showed was true for 80% of India 50 years ago-now it's come down to 25% (not a small number I must admit) & part of the reason was investments in technology for public welfare like the use of satellites for long distance education & training uneducated village women into rural health workers.
So start to shed your stereotyped image of India-it's just too old.
Well India is also one of the fastest growing & largest consumers of energy resources & Africa is becoming known for it's petroleum reserves.A bit of aid here & there keeps Indian influence in place & keeps Africa in India's energy security spectrum-China does the same thing ,on a much larger scale in a lot of African nations.
Pity you didn't know that.
'beggers'??-is that a word found in the Queen's English??can't seem to find it anywhere!!!
The difference is that India HAS hope and is actively moving to better itself and its people -- like other parts of Eurasia: Korea was a mess just 50 years ago, as was Japan. SIngapore was a backwater in the 60s while Malaysia was pretty poor right up to the 80s. Most African states, on the other hand seem pretty much hopeless.
Exactly -- it's the age old argument -- give a beggar a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him to fish and he can survive on his own. The Liberals don't realise that handouts actually degrade the population and make them unused to looking after themselves -- and that HAS happened in Africa
East and South Africa ARE in India's sphere of influence
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.