Dharmendra Pradhan participates in launch of Gabon's first agriculture SEZ

New Delhi [India], June 15 : Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday participated in the launch event of Gabon's first Agriculture Special Economic Zone (SEZ) project here in the national capital.
Speaking to ANI on the sidelines of the event, Pradhan said, "Gabon is a very good friend of our country and we have very deep relations with them. Indeed, the India-Africa relations are very old and many students from Africa come here for study".
He said that Gabon currently relies on food imports but after this initiative, farmers from Odisha will go there to teach farming.
"At present, Africa's Gabon has to import food grains, despite having abundant cultivable land. Gabon has made an SEZ (Special Economic Zone) for the agriculture sector, in which one of our universities has become a partner," he said.
Pradhan added, "Under this, farmers from Odisha will go to Gabon and teach farming of maze, banana, cereals to the people there. They will also train regarding the construction of transformers. We wil try to fulfil the ambitious target set by the Gabon government".
The Union Minister further said that the initiative is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of 'Global South' under India's G20 presidency.
"This is also a part of our New Education Policy. In our education policy, the target has been set to fulfil not only the needs of the country but also of the world. Under the G20 presidency, PM Modi has talked about Global South, and India has the responsibility of poor and backward countries. In this direction, this initiative is a very good step," he added.