The event was aimed to boost commercial relations and offered an opportunity to policymakers, bureaucrats and captains of business and industry to deepen ties
African leaders were in New Delhi recently for a key investment meeting. The meet brought together 40 ministers from 17 countries including Burkina Faso, Congo, Cameroon, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon and Malawi among others.
The event was aimed to boost commercial relations and offered an opportunity to policymakers, bureaucrats and captains of business and industry to deepen ties.
Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said that India was among the leading countries that had invested in the African continent. “With cumulative investments at €73.2 billion from 1996-2021, India is among the top five investors in Africa,” Jaishankar said while addressing the 17th CII-EXIM bank conclave on India-Africa Growth Partnership.
The Indian Minister pointed out that India’s bilateral trade with Africa had reached €88.7 billion in 2021-22 compared with €57 billion the previous year and that over 33 of Africa’s least developed nations have been entitled to get benefits under the Duty Free Tariff Preference scheme.
India’s main exports to Africa have been refined petroleum products and pharmaceuticals while Africa primarily exports crude oil, gold, coal and other minerals.
The conclave has become one of the largest congregations of senior ministers, policy makers and business leaders from Africa and India, cutting across sectors, and has played a pivotal role in encouraging Indian companies to establish and grow their footprint in Africa.
The diaspora also plays its own bridging role between India and Africa. Africa is home to about 3 million Indian-origin people, with more than 1 million of them in South Africa. Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda also have large numbers of diaspora Indians
“The resilience of the Indian and African economies and the many new emerging sectors driven by digital technologies and the green economy create a new set of opportunities that the businesses of both sides must leverage to the optimum,” said Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General of the Confederation of Indian Industry.
So far, India has completed 197 projects, while 65 projects are under execution and 81 are in the pre-execution stage. Over the years, India has funded projects and enjoyed a significant symbolic presence in Africa.
“Just to cite a few instances, in The Gambia, India has not merely built National Assembly Building but undertaken projects related to water supply, agriculture, and food processing,” said Rajan Hershe, former Vice-Chancellor of Allahabad University. “It is also building the presidential palace in Ghana, the first milk factory in Djibouti and power projects in Sudan and Rwanda.”
Over the past decade, Beijing has pumped billions of dollars into Africa, building roads, bridges and power installations in return for access to markets and resources. Unlike China which has concentrated on creating infrastructure and in extracting natural resources, India through its investments, has focused on its core competencies of human resources development, information technology, maritime security, education and health care.
The diaspora also plays its own bridging role between India and Africa. Africa is home to about 3 million Indian-origin people, with more than 1 million of them in South Africa. Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda also have large numbers of diaspora Indians, reported rfi.fr.
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