The visit reinforces India’s strategic outreach to Africa by combining educational diplomacy, maritime cooperation and capacity building with its broader Global South vision.
Zanzibar President Hussein Ali Mwinyi and his wife Mariam Mwinyi pay tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat, in New Delhi, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (PTI)
New Delhi:President Hussein Ali Mwinyi’s July 17-20 visit to India was much more than a bilateral engagement between India and Zanzibar, the semi-autonomous archipelago of Tanzania.
The visit reflected New Delhi’s broader strategic vision of deepening engagement with Africa through development partnerships, education, digital transformation, maritime cooperation and capacity building rather than traditional aid-based diplomacy. It also underscored India’s growing efforts to position itself as the leading voice of the Global South amid intensifying geopolitical competition on the African continent.
According to a post on the official X handle of Vice President CP Radhakrishnan, at whose invitation Mwinyi visited India, the two leaders held wide-ranging and productive discussions at Rashtrapati Bhavan here on Sunday.
“The meeting reaffirmed the enduring India–Tanzania partnership and the special relationship India shares with Zanzibar, rooted in centuries-old maritime, cultural and people-to-people ties,” the Vice President’s Office stated. “The two leaders discussed ways to further strengthen cooperation in trade, investment, development partnership, tourism, the blue economy, education, technology and multilateral engagement.”
Earlier in the day, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also held a meeting with Mwinyi.
“A pleasure to meet Dr. Hussein Ali Mwinyi @DrHmwinyi, President of Zanzibar, United Republic of Tanzania and Chairman of the Revolutionary Council, today in Delhi,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stated in a post on his X handle. “We discussed expanding our cooperation in higher education, capacity building, water supply, health, AI, digital and other priority sectors.”
Although President Mwinyi represents Zanzibar rather than the union government of Tanzania, his visit carried considerable diplomatic significance because Zanzibar occupies a strategic location along the East African coast in the western Indian Ocean. Historically, it has served as one of the principal maritime gateways connecting India, East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
India has maintained centuries-old civilisational, commercial and cultural ties with Zanzibar. Large Indian-origin communities continue to contribute to Zanzibar’s economy, while historical trade across the Indian Ocean laid the foundation for enduring people-to-people relations. President Mwinyi’s meetings with Vice-President Radhakrishnan and External Affairs Minister Jaishankar reaffirmed this historical partnership while identifying new areas of cooperation, including artificial intelligence, digital technologies, healthcare, water management, higher education and capacity building.
Perhaps the most significant dimension of the visit was President Mwinyi’s participation as chief guest at the 63rd Convocation of IIT Madras on July 17 highlighting the success of the IIT Madras Zanzibar Campus, established in October 2023.
Vice President CP Radhakrishnan during a meeting with Zanzibar President Hussein Ali Mwinyi and others, at Uprashtri Bhavan, in New Delhi. (PTI)
The campus represents several strategic firsts. It is the first overseas campus of an Indian Institute of Technology. It showcases India’s ability to export high-quality higher education rather than merely receive international students. It reflects India’s transition from development assistance to institution-building abroad. Furthermore, it demonstrates India’s emphasis on human re
Unlike many infrastructure projects funded by external powers, the IIT campus focuses on creating indigenous scientific and technological capabilities within Africa. This aligns closely with India’s long-standing philosophy that capacity building produces more durable partnerships than financial assistance alone.
The IIT Madras Zanzibar campus initiative has increasingly become a flagship example of India’s development cooperation model across Africa.
Zanzibar also forms an important component of India’s wider East Africa policy.
India enjoys strong relations with Tanzania, Kenya, Mozambique, Mauritius, Seychelles and Madagascar, all of which occupy strategic positions in the western Indian Ocean. These countries are central to India’s maritime security architecture under its Vision SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and the expanded MAHASAGAR framework.
Mwinyi’s visit also highlighted the distinctive nature of India’s engagement with Africa.
Unlike several major powers whose engagement is often driven primarily by strategic rivalry, India’s approach is based on demand-driven development assistance, local capacity building, affordable technology, digital public infrastructure, healthcare cooperation, skills development, education, and concessional financing without political conditionalities.
The discussions on AI, digital technologies, water supply and health reflect India’s growing export of developmental solutions that have been successfully implemented domestically.
India’s Digital Public Infrastructure – including digital identity, digital payments and e-governance – has attracted increasing interest among African countries seeking low-cost technological solutions.
According to Samir Bhattacharya, Associate Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation think tank, Mwinyi’s visit also makes sense because once India has set up an IIT campus, there can always be associated developments like hospitals.
Mwinyi’s visit also fits squarely into India’s broader diplomatic narrative of becoming the Voice of the Global South.
Since assuming the G20 Presidency in 2023, India has consistently advocated that developing countries deserve greater representation in global governance, equitable climate financing, affordable access to technology,
food and energy security, resilient supply chains, and reform of multilateral institutions.
The Voice of Global South Summits organised by India have sought to aggregate developing-country perspectives before major international meetings.
African countries remain central to this vision.
Zanzibar President Hussein Ali Mwinyi signs the visitor’s book after paying tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat, in New Delhi, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (PTI)
India strongly supported the African Union’s inclusion as a permanent member of the G20, demonstrating its commitment to amplifying Africa’s voice in global decision-making.
Mwinyi’s visit reinforces India’s message that its Global South diplomacy extends beyond rhetoric and is backed by concrete developmental initiatives.
The Zanzibar President’s visit also comes amid increasing geopolitical competition in Africa. China remains Africa’s largest infrastructure investor through the Belt and Road Initiative. The European Union has launched the Global Gateway initiative. The US has expanded its Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investmentre also increasing their African engagement
Against this backdrop, India’s comparative strengths lie in affordability, local ownership, technology transfer, democratic institutions, human re
According to Bhattacharya, Mwinyi’s visit might also signal a precursor to a prime ministerial visit from India to Tanzania. Prime Minister Narendra Modi last visited Tanzania in 2016. Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan had visited India in 2023.
Bhattacharya said that, since India is holding the chair of the BRICS this year, Tanzania will be looking for full membership of the intergovernmental organisation. Tanzania is actively aligning with the BRICS bloc, pursuing strategic partnerships secure major investments, particularly from Russia and China. The nation is expanding its trade and transport ties, looking to serve as a regional hub for BRICS investors seeking entry into East and Southern Africa.
In this connection, Bhattacharya said that Mwinyi’s visit should also be seen from the perspective of India’s interests in possible oil reserves in Zanzibar.
“And in that Zanzibar coast, there were discussions on exploring some oil and gasip. India may be interested to go and explore the oil possibility, through entities like ONGC Videsh.”
While there are no confirmed reserves yet, the area is considered a highly promising frontier. Ongoing and recent exploration efforts include offshore licensing. The Zanzibar government launched its first offshore licensing round, offering eight frontier blocks covering 31,883 sq km. The Zanzibar Petroleum Development Company (ZPDC) contracted AGS Tanzania to conduct 3D surveys – specifically targeting North and South Unguja – to identify potential drill sites, with operations continuing into 2027. Along with offshore oil prospects, preliminary natural gas surveys are actively underway on Pemba Island.
In this context, President Mwinyi’s visit was not merely a reaffirmation of India’s longstanding friendship with Tanzania and Zanzibar. It also showcased New Delhi’s broader diplomatic strategy of leveraging education, technology, capacity building and people-centric development to strengthen partnerships across Africa, enhance its influence in the Indian Ocean region and reinforce its claim to leadership among developing nations.
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