The Hindu Business Line : India offers cooperation for sustained development of Africa

Bonhomie: The External Affairs Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, Chairperson of African Union Commission, Prof. Alpha Oumer Konare, and Foreign Ministers of African countries during a meeting at the India-Africa Forum Summit in New Delhi on Monday. —

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New Delhi, April 7 India today renewed its commitment to work in partnership with Africa and reassured to continue such cooperation in areas of its strength for the sustained development of African countries.

Delivering the inaugural address at the Foreign Ministers meeting of the India-Africa Forum Summit, scheduled to begin here tomorrow, the Union External Affairs Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, said that while India’s engagement with African countries in the past focussed on bilateral engagements, but in recent years, “we have taken initiatives for establishing relationship with Africa’s regional economic communities”.

He said India’s regional cooperative programmes encompass feasibility studies, consultancies, joint projects in expansion of railway networks, development of regional capital and stock markets, food and health security, pilot projects on establishment or micro, small and medium enterprise and science and technology parks, hydro-electric projects and information, communication and technology for development.

Mr. Mukherjee said Indian companies had made robust investments in Africa running into several billion dollars in sectors ranging from horticulture and agriculture to power generation and mining. India’s trade with Africa has been surging rapidly in recent years. He said India signed trade agreements with 29 countries in Africa. Two-way trade has risen from around $5.5 billion in 2001-02 to over $30 billion in 2007-08, representing an almost six-fold spurt in as many years.

Mr. Mukherjee said projects such as the Pan African e-Network remain instances of “our genuine effort at sharing our progress in the knowledge sector and helping bridge the digital divide in Africa.”

The pilot project is already functioning in Addis Ababa and the hub in Dakar awaits installation of equipment. 29 countries of Africa have so far joined this projegramme, he added.

India has also extended concessional lines of credit of about $2.1 billion dollars to the countries of Africa, both bilaterally and through regional bodies, Mr. Mukherjee said adding that Africa is today the largest recipient of India’s technical assistance programme.

Highlighting cooperation and common stance by India and Africa on several global issues, Mr. Mukherjee said that on climate change, “the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities was important”.

He said the Bali Conference has reaffirmed the principles and provisions of the UN Framework Convention on Climate change. “Long-term convergence of per capita emissions of developed and developing countries are an important principle that deserves serious consideration in the context of the international climate change negotiations”.

He said that India and Africa should work closely together including in the NAM/G-77 framework, in the climate change negotiations and not “allow ourselves to be divided”.

On Doha Round of trade talks, Mr. Mukherjee warned that “there can be no artificial deadlines. The promise of this being a development round must be fully realised”. Mr. Mukherjee also touched issues like reform of the UN, especially of the UN Security Council and countering terrorism as its “tentacles were reaching into Africa”. Eom 1900