No sooner had the plane carrying Chinese President Xi Jinping taken to the skies than the Indian Prime Minister’s was landing. Just like Jinping, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is accompanied by a very large delegation and immediately set about signing many cooperation agreements. Despite the many years of Indo-Rwanda relations it was only this month that the first Indian High Commissioner was named. All consular affairs were hitherto being handled by the Kampala office, a very tedious affair, especially for those seeking medical care in India, the destination of choice for most. India is known for its first class and affordable medical care. And true to someone who did his homework and learnt the value of cows in our society, Prime Minister Modi did not come empty handed; he comes bearing a gift of 200 cows for the “Girinka” (one-cow-per-family) initiative. Incidentally, a cow is also considered a sacred animal by the Hindu, so the cow factor in this case is very significant. They will be handed over to beneficiaries today. One could safely say that this week can be used to gauge the country’s diplomatic clout and organizational capacity; flawlessly receiving three heads of governments and their huge delegations is no mean feat. The public has learnt to live with the expected traffic snarl ups when VVIP’s are in town, but it should not be a permanent state of affair. Concerned authorities should learn from the few high profile visits we have had in the past and think of the urgency of coming up with alternate routes. Otherwise, it has been a productive week and hope that enterprising Rwandans will find a way of exploiting the opportunities that came with the visits and the agreements signed.
