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Time to give strategic cast to India-Africa ties: Experts
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SME Times News Bureau | 29 Apr, 2010
With a growing global interest in India's engagement with Africa and China's surge in the region, experts and officials Wednesday pitched for imparting a strategic vision to the burgeoning economic and diplomatic ties between New Delhi and the resource-rich African continent.
Gurjit Singh, joint secretary in charge of East and South Africa in the external affairs ministry, outlined key features of India's Africa policy that revolves around increased trade and investment, capacity building and training.
India and Africa plan to scale up their bilateral trade to $70 billion in the next five years, said Singh, adding that more and more Indian companies are showing interest in investing in Africa.
He was speaking at a seminar organised by think-tank Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) on 'India-Africa partnership: What the future holds'.
V.B. Soni, chairman of Overseas Infrastructure Alliance (India) Pvt Ltd that has diverse investments in Africa, focused on the need to increase Indian investment in infrastructure sector in Africa and identified agriculture and power sectors as key areas where Indian companies can make a difference.
There is a dire need for rural electrification in Africa, he said, adding that Indian companies should seize the initiative in this area.
With Africa emerging as an alternative energy hub to the Middle East, experts analysed growing involvement of Indian public sector and private companies in this sector and called for giving a strategic dimension to contemporary India-Africa ties.
Ajay Dubey, an Africa expert at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), dwelt on the role of the two-million strong Indian diaspora in Africa and analysed different ways in which the diaspora can be deployed as a strategic resource to transform India-Africa relations.
Dubey also spoke about Africa's strategic importance to India in many areas, including African support for New Delhi's quest for a seat in an expanded UN Security Council.
Alluding to China's surging trade with Africa that has exceeded $109 billion, compared to India's $39 billion, experts suggested that India scale up its economic diplomacy in the resource-rich region and evolve its own distinctive model of engagement that is different from Beijing's "mercantilist" approach.
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