New Delhi, Sep 19 (Inditop.com) It was appropriate that when Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor visited Liberia, which elected Africa’s first female president, one of the highlights of his trip would be a meeting with India’s most famous contribution to the African state – 125 female personnel of India’s Central Reserve Police Force that was in the West African nation as part of a UN mission.
As the first Indian minister to visit in 38 years, Tharoor also went bearing a lot of gifts for Liberia, including lines of credit, a grant of $2 million and various training programmes.
As part of the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), India had sent the first Indian Female Formed Police Unit (FFPU) in 2007, whose role is to maintain law and order, and provide security to the president.
The FFPU has become a highly-visible unit of UN’s peacekeeping efforts. The UN has even recorded that the presence of the Indian policewomen had led to a spurt in Liberian women applying to join their police force.
“After a war in which so many women suffered, a female police unit shows women as sources of strength and security, not only victims. Inspiring,” Tharoor posted on the social networking tool, Twitter.
Tharoor reached Liberia Thursday after a journey of nearly 24 hours via Brussels. In his effusive style, Tharoor said he had “terrific” meetings with Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who is the first elected female head of state in Africa.
Tharoor said: “Africa is a real priority for us and presence is the best way to prove it.”
Accompanied by a business delegation, the minister offered help to Liberia in capacity building, training, trade, investment and IT. A joint statement released at the conclusion of the visit said that India offered assistance in the forms of lines of credit on concessional terms, as well as a grant-in-aid for education and health projects worth $2 million.
India also donated 25 buses to the Monrovia Transport Authority and two ‘hole-in-the-wall’ computer education centres. The ‘hole-in-wall computer’ refers to a special educational project where children who don’t have access to technology are able to learn how to use computers.
“India extends hand of friendship and solidarity as Liberia rebuilds,” Tharoor said.
The joint statement, also released here, said that Liberia had offered “substantial tracts of land for the development of commercial cropping for increasing Liberia’s food security as well as for export purposes”.
Besides, Liberia welcomed investments from India in the small scale, mining and agricultural sectors.
The country announced support for India’s candidature of the non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council from the Asian Group for the period 2011-12 for which elections are to be held in October 2010.
