New Delhi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday gifted 200 cows to villagers at Rweru Model village in the Bugesera district of the Easter Province in Rwanda. Supporting the Rwandan government’s Girinka programme, the cows were handed over to villagers who do not yet own a cow, in the presence of President Paul Kagame.

Appreciating the Girinka initiative, Modi underlined that “people in India too would be pleasantly surprised to see the cow being given such importance as a means of economic empowerment in villages, in faraway Rwanda”.

Initiated by Kagame to fight high rates of childhood malnutrition and integrate livestock and crop farming into rural economy, Girinka roughly translates into “may you have a cow”. It marks a centuries-old cultural practice in Rwanda of gifting cows as a sign of respect and gratitude. Modi drew similarities between the rural lives and economies of India and Rwanda.