Considered as one of India's biggest diplomatic jamborees of the year, the third India-Africa Summit kicked off in style in New Delhi on Tuesday (26th October). With more than a 1,000 delegates from all 54 countries of the African continent marking their attendance, India strongly hints at better diplomatic relations with Africa. Also one of the largest ever gathering of African countries in India, this meet will see some controversial figures like the President of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir.
The previous two summits seem modest with the participation of merely 15 states in the past years. Given the major turn up, one is forced to appreciate Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's hand at repairing the failing ties with the continent that no longer sees India as a priority nation. On day one of the four-day-long IAFS, officials finalised the main outcome documents for the mega diplomatic event. “They are negotiating two documents. One is a political document which will talk of the political partnership between India and Africa. It will touch upon global and regional issues. The other one is going to be a framework document of cooperation which will talk about the development partnership of Africa, line of credit by India to African nations,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup told reporters.
India wants a “developmental partnership” with Africa to be the base of their economic ties. This also allows India to differentiate itself from the principles on which countries belonging to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. While the Indian private sector, including big names like Tata, Bajaj, Mahindra and Airtel have made significant investments in Africa, it needs bolder and more imagination to gain control in the initiative in Africa. There are several other strategic convergences, like the growing hold of terrorist organisation Boko Haram in Nigeria, the Islamic State and Islamic extremism the continent faces. India and Africa can together address the issue. India is building economic and commercial ties with Africa even as it is contributing to the development of African countries through cooperation and technical assistance. It is the third-largest contributor of UN peacekeepers to the continent. The Indian Navy is also engaged in dealing with pirates off the coast of Somalia. It has been patrolling the waters of the Indian Ocean and helping countries in Eastern and Southern Africa in tackling piracy and surveillance of the EEZ. India has sought cooperation of African states in the Indian Ocean littoral to establish mechanisms for cooperation in order to deal with threats to regional security including terrorism and piracy.
India’s trade with Africa is valued at USD 75 billion. India has granted USD7.4 billion for various developmental and capacity building projects, and has implemented 137 projects in 41 African countries in the past four years. “We will have a cultural component in the inaugural ceremony, which has not happened in the last two Summits. This will exhibit some of the traditions and cultures of India and also the brand new India, and how that new India can partner with a resurgent Africa,” chief coordinator of the Summit, Akbaruddin said. He said India will be focussing on capacity building and human resources as the major deliverables. “We stand for human resources in Africa...the most important element in any society. Any other resources are peripheral to our engagement. Our engagement with Africa is in terms of human resources, people-to-people contact, exchange of ideas, capacity building where and African can gain,” he said.
