Zanzibar, July 6: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar attended a deck reception onboard INS Trishul along with President of Zanzibar Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi and said that the presence of the Indian frigate here is a statement of India's commitment to ensure peace and prosperity in the region.

The Indian Naval Ship Trishul, a guided missile frigate, is visiting Tanzania. Jaishankar arrived in Zanzibar on a two-day official visit on Wednesday. He called on President Mwinyi earlier and discussed bilateral ties, including defence cooperation. EAM S Jaishankar Reaches Zanzibar To Deepen Ties With Tanzania; Receives Warm Welcome (Watch Video).

EAM S Jaishankar Attends Reception Onboard INS Trishul

"Delighted to meet President of Zanzibar Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi. Appreciated his strong commitment to a stronger India-Zanzibar partnership. Our development partnership and defence cooperation are domains with which he is closely associated. @DrHmwinyi," the External Affairs Minister tweeted.

"Attended a deck reception hosted onboard INS Trishul with the President of Zanzibar@DrHmwinyi. Welcomed the presence of the Speaker, Ministers, MPs, and senior officers from the Tanzanian Defence Forces and the Indian diaspora. INS Trishul's presence in Zanzibar today is a statement of our SAGAR commitment," Jaishankar tweeted on Wednesday.

SAGAR or Security And Growth for All in the Region is a maritime initiative that prioritises the Indian Ocean region to ensure India's peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indian Ocean region.

While speaking at the reception in the presence of the President of Zanzibar onboard INS Trishul, Jaishanakr said," The link between the western coast of India and the eastern coast of Africa, I think it's a very historical one. And today we have an opportunity to celebrate and again this is also a time when we strengthen our development partnership."

"It's our focus to expand and deepen development, at the end of the day, development is underpinned by security and the presence today of an Indian Navy ship," he said.

"The fact that it's an activity which flows directly from the SAGAR outlook, which the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) enunciated eight years ago... underlines today that the waters are not only a trade and a cultural bridge between us or the waters are also for us, a shared security focus, and our endeavours together in ensuring the safety and security of these waters should also be a priority," Jaishankar said.

He also 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. Setting up the Indian Institute of Technology here would contribute to human resource development in Tanzania, Jaishankar said.

Jaishankar also attended the signing of an agreement for the setting up of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras' Zanzibar campus and asserted that it reflects India's commitment to the Global South.

"Witnessed the signing of the agreement on setting up of @iitmadras Zanzibar campus. Appreciate President @DrHmwinyi gracing the occasion, as also the presence of his Ministers. This historic step reflects India's commitment to the Global South," Jaishankar tweeted.

Jaishankar will visit a water supply project funded by the Government of India line of credit. He 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, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a press release.

India and Tanzania have traditionally enjoyed close and friendly relations. "Jaishankar's visit to Tanzania will further consolidate the bilateral relations between our two countries," the release said.