India-Africa relations

India’s engagement with Africa has its own unique script, based on what PM Modi has called, ‘a strong
emotional link’ defined by our shared history of struggle against colonialism and our aspiration to bring
prosperity to our people.

The imperatives that drive African-Indian engagement are based on our shared challenges, common
interests, and perceptions of mutual benefit.

Former Vice President Hamid Ansari - Four Imperatives for Cooperation in India-Africa ties

i. Our shared history and cultural links.

o Our struggle for national liberation. It was on this continent that Mahatma Gandhi
developed and first practised the concepts of non-violence and peaceful resistance that won
India its freedom.
 o Our present choices are informed by our shared experience of anti-colonial struggle against
exploitation and racial discrimination.
o India, despite the constraints of its growing economy, was a forerunner in championing the
interests of developing countries, including those from Africa, through initiatives such as:
• Bandung declaration of 1955,
• Group of 77, and
• Non-Aligned Movement.
o People-to-People contact - A large number of people of Indian origin call Africa their home,
a number of them being based in the Eastern and Southern parts of Africa.
ii. Our complementary strengths and capacities that make us natural economic and commercial
partners.
o India provides a long-term, stable and profitable market to the goods and services that
Africa generates. For India, Africa has the potential to become a major contributor to our
energy security and food security requirements. This is a ‘win-win’ situation.
o India is an important source of investment for projects in Africa in sectors such as
pharmaceuticals, IT and telecommunications, engineering, education, health and
agriculture.
• The quantum of Indian investments in Africa has increased in recent years and is
presently estimated to be about $ 35 billion, with a large part of it concentrated in
Southern and Eastern Africa.
o In order to address the trade imbalance and diversify the trade basket, India has already
offered duty-free access to Indian markets, with very few exceptions, for all the LDCs of
Africa.
iii. Our common approach in meeting development challenges towards building a sustainable
future for our people.
o The African leadership is aware of India’s domestic experience and success in developing a
vibrant manufacturing and services sector, while encouraging inclusiveness at societal level.
o While each country has its own unique development story, the answer to many issues
confronting us in health and well-being, food security and nutrition, energy, climate change,
water and sanitation lie perhaps in the mirror image that India and Africa present in terms
of demography, disease burden and resource constraints; and how we have met these
challenges through innovative solutions.
o Our partnership model is premised on human resource development and institution
building in partner countries. This in turn, creates skills and capacities in Africa.
o Our concessional Lines of Credit are tailored to the requirements and capacities of our
partners in Africa, to ensure that they do not become another channel leading them into a
debt trap.
• GoI has announced concessional credit of over $ 10 billion, over a period of next five
years, in addition to the ongoing credit lines.
iv. Our cooperation comes from a shared perspective on addressing peace and security related
issues and a convergence of views on matters global.
o Combating terrorism and piracy to coordinating our positions in global forums over issues
such as UN reforms, WTO and Climate Change.
o The reform of political, security and economic institutions of global governance, including a
meaningful expansion of the UNSC.
o Ambassador M. Ganapathi: The Ezulwini Consensus, agreed by the African Union calls for a
more representative and democratic UNSC, in which Africa is represented with at least two
permanent seats (including veto power).
India Africa Forum Summit
India’s commitment to developing a strong partnership with Africa is reflected in our recent initiatives,
particularly under the rubric of the India Africa Forum Summit, whose third edition was held in New
Delhi in 2015 with participation from 54 African countries.
• The Forum provided an opportunity for the African leaders to explore what India offered to them.
The outcome document of the summit –“Delhi Declaration” and “Framework for Strategic
Partnership”- reflected the common positions of India and Africa on a wide array of political and
economic issues as well as an articulation of our joint commitment to deepening our mutual
cooperation.
• The meeting provided a new direction to Africa- India relations based on equality, mutual respect
and shared gains in addition to identifying broad areas of cooperation in political, economic and
social development.
• Cabinet approves Opening of 18 new Indian Missions in Africa to implement commitments of
India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS-III)

India’s Africa experts have been disappointed with the decision to put off the next summit with Africa to
2020 instead of 2018 as was expected.

Africa's 'Agenda 2063'

Amb. Rajiv Bhatia (Jan. 2017): India’s Africa policy is broadly in line with Agenda 2063, promoted by the
African Union. However, some recalibration may be needed because issues such as UN reform,
counterterrorism, climate change and International Solar Alliance will inevitably take longer to show
results. Meanwhile, India must concentrate on actions that strengthen its economic cooperation with
select African countries.

Amb. HHS Vihwanathan - Africa’s ‘Agenda 2063’: A document of hope (April 2018)
Even after the decolonisation of Africa, the continent was unable to formulate, let alone implement its
own agenda because of its deep political and economic vulnerabilities. This situation has changed in the
last two decades. Today, Africa is witnessing political and economic resurgence. Its leaders realise that
the time has come for African development to be owned and driven by the African people themselves.

There is a new enthusiasm for the very idea of ‘Pan-Africanism’, and Agenda 2063 is a document that
expresses this spirit. The African Union (AU) adopted the agenda in 2015 with the aim of having a
roadmap for a strong, peaceful, integrated and prosperous Africa by 2063, 100 years after the
establishment of AU’s predecessor, the Organization for African Unity (OAU).

Asia-Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC)

A vision document on the “Asia Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC)” was released at the AfDB annual
meeting (May 2017) in Gandhinagar. This study was jointly produced by three research institutions of
India and Japan (RIS, New Delhi contributed from India).

It envisages closer engagement between India and Africa for “sustainable and innovative development”,
and will be anchored to four pillars:
i. Development and cooperation projects;
ii. Quality infrastructure and institutional connectivity;
iii. Enhancing capacities and skills; and
iv. People-to-people partnership.
The AAGC will have special focus on the following geographies: Africa, India and South Asia, Southeast
Asia, East Asia and Oceania.

Convinced of the rising importance of the Indo-Pacific region as “the key driver for prosperity of the
world”, the Indo-Japan leadership decided “to seek synergy” between India’s Act East Policy and Japan’s
“Expanded Partnership for Quality Infrastructure (PQI)”. India and Japan remain open to partnership
with other like-minded countries such as the US, Germany, France and probably the UAE and Singapore.
• The Vision Document points out that AAGC connects the robust Asian economy to the young
demography of Africa that holds so many possibilities. This mix of opportunity and challenge is so
vast that it requires a whole-hearted international collaboration.

Whether this would be India’s answer to China’s OBOR?

Amb. Rajiv Bhaitia: The honest answer is in the negative as the approaches of India and China towards
Africa are essentially different.
• China concentrates on infrastructure and "cheque-book diplomacy" ("Debt-Trap Diplomacy"),
whereas India focusses on the development of Africa’s human resources.
• China goes solo, while India is desirous of working with other willing nations to assist Africa as per
the latter’s priorities.
• Besides, while committed to a voluntary partnership with Africa, India is not “prescriptive”, as FM
Arun Jaitley explained. This enlightened approach offers “limitless possibilities” for India-Africa
cooperation.

Nevertheless, it should be reckoned that India and Japan do not have the luxury of time in view of
China’s rapidly expanding footprint in Africa.

Immediately initiate a few joint pilot projects involving the companies of India, Japan and a few African
countries such as Kenya, Ethiopia and Mozambique in identified areas such as health care, agriculture
and blue economy. Unless results become visible in the short term, questions may arise about the
credibility of their joint approach. China’s substantial success needs to be matched by sustained India-
Japan cooperation in Africa.

Economic Partnership

The India-Africa economic partnership lags some way behind the diplomatic reciprocity the two
countries share. Africa has had a trade surplus with India in the past decade, but increasing two-way
trade of goods and services across sectors calls for serious promotional measures and removal of non-
tariff barriers. The government, Indian business and their African partners need to devise an action plan
that can take trade to $100 billion and investment to $75 billion by 2022. (Amb. Rajiv Bhatia)

African Regional Economic communities:

i. COMESA – The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is a free trade area
with twenty member states stretching from Libya to Swaziland.
ii. Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and
iii. Southern African Development Community (SADC) in sub-Saharan Africa
iv. The East African Community (EAC), comprising Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and
South Sudan, has emerged as one of the most successful of Africa’s Regional Economic
Communities. Having established a customs union, it is building a single market and wants to set
up a monetary union.
Prof. Sreeram Chaulia: India cannot be clubbed in the same category as China, i.e. as a mineral-grabber
that is out to plunder Africa and denude it of its vast natural wealth. The message sent out by the PM’s
team ahead of his visit to the continent is that “we are not here to exploit” and “we want to be
partners in development.”
• China has been trumpeting its South-South cooperation model as a resounding success in Africa.
But the absence of a human resource component, a transparency element, and a social sector or
democracy angle in that model means that India has an indispensable place on the continent.

Shashi Tharoor: African countries admire China but they want to be like India.

Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB): India hosted for the first time in the
history
• cooperation with Africa on the International Solar Alliance (ISA) initiative
• “High 5s” - focuses on five major developmental priorities comprising:
o Agriculture, energy, industrialization, regional connectivity, and improved quality of life
through access to social and economic opportunities.
• India Africa Forum Summit 2015, the announcement of a US$ 10 billion line of credit by India.
• A vision document on the “Asia Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC)” was released at the AfDB annual
meeting (May 2017) in Gandhinagar.

Some of the leadership Visits

Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya: (all 4 on periphery of Indian Ocean) PM's Visit (July 7 to
11, 2016)
• Focus Areas: Maritime Dimensions, Energy
o Food security - India a major importer of pulses from these regions, Arhur, Tur & Moong
daal
• Mozambique: Mozambique was ruled by Portuguese from Goa for nearly 250 years (1505-1752),
so a strong connection .
o 3rd largest exporter of natural gas after Qatar and Australia.
o Mozambique is the destination of nearly a quarter of Indian Investments in Africa.
o MoU on Govt. to Govt. purchase of pulses.
o Maritime: member of IORA, a regular participant in the IONS.
• South Africa:
o Partner in all our multilateral organizations: BRICS, IBSA, BASIC; supportive of NSG
membership
• Kenya: Last visit in 1981 by Mrs. Gandhi; President of Kenya visit to India (Jan 2016), Rajiv Bhatia
o Community: traders from Kutch region
o A very healthy trade tradition, till 2014 our exports to Kenya were larger than any other
country in Africa.
o Broad based and wide ranging cooperation in agriculture and food security
o Challenges in the Maritime domain
• Maritime Dimensions: All four countries are members of IORA
 o India’s expanding naval and commercial strategy needs to be aligned with the east coast of
Africa if it is to succeed as a shaper of stability and peace in the Indian Ocean region.
o The mega-modernisation project of ‘Sagar Mala’, which involves coastal area development,
port infrastructure advancement, connectivity and sea-based industrial synergies, could not
merely be a domestic policy priority but interlinked to our strategic drive to be the defence
and logistical partner for Africa’s eastern coast.
• All are members of International Solar Alliance.

India-Egypt (President Sisi visit in September, 2016)

• to counter “sizable challenge” of extremism and terrorism, Egypt and India will build a “robust
defence and security cooperation”.
o Declaration of a “robust defence and security partnership” is likely to further energise the
Joint Defence Cooperation which was set up in 2006.
• an agreement on maritime shipping transport between two sides.

VP's Visit to Nigeria, Mali (September, 2016)

Nigeria:
• Elevated to Strategic partnership in 2007
• India is Nigeria's largest global trading partner, and Nigeria is India's largest trading partner in
Africa (Bilateral trade USD 12.6 bn)
• Approx. 12% of our crude Oil requirements are met through Nigeria
• Nigeria hosts the largest Indian community in West Africa

VP's visit to Algeria (October 2016)

• Potash fertilizers: a joint venture arrangement with Algeria for a multi-billion dollar fertilizer plant
o India, which has up to 96% phosphate dependency, with the volumes running to some 6
million tonnes a year, is seeking (not confirmed as of now) a 49% share in an Algerian block
that has a capacity of 6 billion tonnes with 26% to 50% phosphate content.
• Oil Exporting nation

PM Visit Rwanda, Uganda and South Africa (BRICS 2018) - July 2018
• Rwanda - India will sign a defence framework agreement with Rwanda. The defence agreement is
expected to enhance ties between the two countries, which became Strategic Partners in January
2017.
• India is yet to set up a long-promised embassy in Kigali, despite the strategic partnership and a
specific promise to do so in a joint statement in January 2017 in Delhi.

Conclusion (Shyam Saran)

This is a continent of the future and India’s long term prospects are closely tied to the success of its
Africa strategy. Here it is important that India does not play a game of catch-up with China. Rather it is
more important to leverage India’s own unique strengths, such as its contribution to capacity building,
promotion of entrepreneurship, small and medium scale industry and digital connectivity. India has a
high reputation in Africa while China is being seen increasingly as a selfish and extractive power. Let us
not traverse the Chinese path in Africa.
Our relations are a long way from reaching the peak. The great potential, therefore, in this relationship
provides both India and our African partners, an opportunity to benefit significantly from its
enlargement.