Solar power, defence, digital infra, health arenas to see amplified India-Africa cooperation
India’s partnership with Africa to get a boost in solar power, defence trade and more sectors
In a far reaching move that will aid India and Africa to strengthen their cooperation in various sectors, the two regions will look to take forward a bunch of major initiatives. Part of the agreement is to accelerate the ushering in of clean energy, energy security and employment generation. To this effect, India will see to it that major developments in the solar power is undertaken in Africa.
Besides, the two will also look at cooperation defence trade and military exchanges in the Indian Ocean and also the manufacture of armoured vehicles and UAVs. A third area that is being explored is cooperation in physical and digital infra, helping in IT consultancy and project exports, while similar efforts are to be kick-started in the healthcare and pharma arena.
Ties with Africa based on trust, friendship
A strong friendship between India and the countries of the African region has been developed over the years, and it comes based on shared history, trade ties and the love for cinema, said Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textile. Speaking at the inaugural session of the CII-Exim Bank Conclave on India-Africa Growth Partnership, Goyal pointed out that India accords highest priority to its Africa engagements, adding that the nation will reassure that the ties with Africa are based on trust, friendship and deep understanding of each other’s requirements.
As India and Africa take their new cooperation forward, it is expected that the partnership will play an important role in their journey going forward. India and Africa collectively constitute one third of the world’s population, and it is a fact that both the regions are much aligned in various sectors. In this context, the CII -Exim bank engagement put together along with all African nations is expected to play a very critical role in the shared future and prosperity of people of Africa and India.
India has been receiving a great amount of support from South Africa, as the South Africa-India sponsored TRIPS waiver that has been proposed and supported by all African countries. This itself is testimony to the prowess of the India-Africa partnership and the efforts to work as a grouping of developing nations.
India-Africa trade ties
Goyal was of the opinion that the WTO Ministerial conference had brought this strong ties to the fore, wherein India and Africa were seen as the voice of developing and less developed countries.
For the record, India is among top five investors in Africa with an amount of $71 billion having been pumped in over the past 25 years. Indian companies have been keen on working to support local manufacturing in Africa. Further, Africa is India’s fourth largest trading partner of India, with Indian merchandise trade zooming 34 percent from $67 billion in 2019-20 to $89 billion in 2021-22. India’s export stands at $40 billion and imports at $49 billion from various African countries.
