A New Chapter in India-Africa Ties

Why in news?

Africa Expert Group has released a report titled ‘India-Africa Partnership: Achievements, Challenges and Roadmap 2023’ which enlisted recommendations to deepen and diversify India-Africa ties.

What is the history of India-Africa relationship?

• Political Relations – This was started when M.K.Gandhi started his political career during colonization in South Africa.
• Diplomatic relations between India and Africa were established during the period of colonialism.
• During the wake of cold war many African Countries joined Non-Alignment Movement pioneered by India, Indonesia, Egypt, Ghana and Yugoslavia.
• India-Africa Forum Summit is the official platform for the African Indian relations which is held once in every 3 years since 2008.
• Economic Relations – India-Africa trade touched $98 billion in FY22–23 which is a positive economic development.
• Defence - India-Africa Defence Dialogue was held in the sidelines of DefExpo 2022 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
• Gandhinagar Declaration was adopted to enhance cooperation in the fields of training & military exercises
• Cultural relations- Project ‘Mausam’ is an initiative of Ministry of Culture which aims to explore the multi-faceted Indian Ocean ‘world’ and promote research on themes related to the study of maritime routes.
• About 39 Indian Ocean countries selected for this project which contains African countries like Egypt, Kenya, Sudan, Somalia etc.,
• Education and Health -Africa is one of the beneficiaries of India’s flagship capacity building programme – Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC).
• As per National Education Policy 2020 guidelines, First IIT Campus to be set outside India is at Zanzibar, Tanzania.
• India supplied 'Made in India' COVID vaccines to 42 African countries under “One Earth One Health Mission”.
• Technology- Pan-African e-network is a joint effort of India and African Union with an aim to provide satellite connectivity, tele-education, and tele-medicine services to the African countries.

What are the key findings of the report?

• Dynamic Africa- Africa is undergoing significant changes in its demographics, economy, politics, and society.
• It is gradually moving towards regional integration and is committed to promoting democracy, peace, and progress.
• Incidents like insurgency, ethnic violence, and terrorism is still a challenging issue in Ethiopia, Sudan, and the Central African Republic.
• Participation of external partners- China, Russia, the United States, the European Union, Japan, Turkey, and the UAE are actively competing to strengthen their relations with Africa.
• They aim to secure market access, energy and mineral resources, and enhance their political and economic influence in the region.
• China’s role- It is Africa's largest economic partner since 2000. The report identified China as an infrastructure developer, resource provider, and financier in Africa.
• India’s role - The report notes that India has a substantive partnership with Africa and a rich fund of goodwill, but it is essential for New Delhi to review its Africa policy periodically.

India is a member of The African Development Bank, which brings together 54 African countries and 28 non-African partners. India has a voting share of 0.265%, 6.7 times lower than the 1.8% held by China.

What are the recommendations?

• Political and diplomatic cooperation- Strengthen the cooperation by restoring periodic leaders’ summits through India-Africa Forum Summit.
• Enhance the cooperation between India and African Union by launching a new annual strategic dialogue in 2023.
• India should forge AU’s entry in G20 as a full member.
• Defence and security cooperation - Enhance cooperation in counter-terrorism, cyber security and emerging technologies.
• Expand dialogue on defence issues and widen the footprint of maritime collaboration.
• Expand the lines of credit to facilitate defence expenses.
• Economic and development- Promote access to finance through the creation of an Africa Growth Fund (AGF).
• A special package of measures to improve exports and build cooperation in the shipping domain.
• A special focus on promoting trilateral cooperation and deepening science and technology cooperation could pay rich dividends.
• Socio- Cultural Cooperation- Greater interaction between universities, think tanks, civil society and media organisations in India and selected African countries.
• Set up a National Centre for African Studies to promote engagement in education.
• Liberalise visa measures for African students who come to India for higher education.

Roadmap 2030 is a set of nearly 60 policy recommendations to deepen and diversify the India-Africa partnership covering 4 areas.

References

1. The Hindu| A new chapter on India-Africa ties.
2. Ministry of External Affairs| IIT campus outside India
3. PIB| Project Mausam