Africa is witnessing a widespread anti-China sentiment as the latter refused to mend its ways. Sensing an opportunity, India is providing a healing touch to the continent as unlike China which is resorting to crisis profiteering amidst a China-made pandemic, India is sending medical supplies to countries across the globe with the African countries also among the beneficiaries of India’s benevolence. Kenya is now reaping the benefits of India’s benevolence as India over half a year ago helped develop a textile factory which is now developing thousands of face masks to help battle the pandemic.
In an interview to WION, Indian envoy to Kenya, Rahul Chhabra stated that over half a year back, India’s Export-Import bank granted a loan to Kenya to modernise its textile factory which also happens to be East Africa’s largest factory and is now producing thousands of face masks to help the continent fight the pandemic.
Additionally, when Kenyan Secretary requested External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for uplifting the export ban on HCQ tablets which was subsequently granted on the spot by India. Kenya is now purchasing 379 thousand tablets of HCQ from India in the middle of the pandemic.
East Africa's biggest Textile factory modernise by $30 million loan from India's EXIM bank producing thousands of face masks tells Indian Envoy to Kenya Rahul Chhabra. @IndiainKenya https://t.co/pSh0ZZiuFJ
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) May 2, 2020
Through, the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme which is India’s flagship component of development partnerships for capacity development, it is training the Kenyan healthcare professionals to help battle Kenya battle the virus.
Temples and Gurudwaras in Kenya have also come together to help the society in these difficult times. A Nairobi Gurudwara is serving daily hot meals to 400 people and daily dry rations to 150 people.
The Hindu community has been providing 20,000 litres of disinfectant and hand sanitisers and is also supplying 50,000 litres to govt and police personnel. The Nakaru chapter of the Hindu community fed 4000 families last month.
Additionally, Kenya is keenly looking to follow India’s model as the country with a 1.3 billion population has gone into a nationwide lockdown which has largely been successful.
India has sensed an opportunity and has acted quickly to assure the African nations that they will always have a friend in India. It remains to be seen whether, after the pandemic, India will assume a significant role in Africa to act as an antidote to Chinese presence.