Round The World

New Delhi, 15 April 2008

India-Africa Summit

WOOING AFRICANS, COUNTERING CHINA

By Dr. Monika Chansoria

          (Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi)

India played host to the maiden and landmark two-day India-Africa Forum Summit in New Delhi this April 8-9, with a call for an increase in tangible measures to forge closer economic engagement and political representation between the two countries.  

The Summit inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had critical significance as it was viewed clearly as an effort by India to build systemic ties with the African continent. Particularly at a time when the burgeoning Indian economy is losing no opportunity at building contemporary partnerships in vital arenas such as trade, investment and energy ties.

As a matter of fact, India and Africa have shared a notable relationship in the past decades, which ultimately grew into a sustainable partnership. The sentiment was deftly displayed in a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs ahead of the Summit. It read: “From our struggle against colonialism and apartheid, we have emerged to jointly accept the challenges of a globalizing world. Whether we have to deal with threats to international peace and security, international terrorism or the scourge of poverty, we believe that India and Africa traverse the same path, share the same values and cherish the same dreams.”

“We have a vision for a partnership with Africa for the 21st century. This vision will take us beyond our strong bilateral relationships, our close ties with regional economic communities and develop a new paradigm of cooperation which will take into account Africa’s own aspirations for pan-African institutions and development programmes,” the statement added.

Amidst this backdrop, Manmohan Singh made decisive announcements as he addressed the visiting leaders of 14 African nations.  The conference shed light on significant areas including technology, agriculture, human resources and energy ties.

Many African countries that have had long-standing ties with India attended the meet. These included Nigeria, India’s second largest source of imported crude petroleum, South Africa, the fourth-largest source for India’s gold imports, and Morocco and Senegal, that are leading sources of India’s global imports of inorganic chemicals, along with Kenya, Egypt, Tanzania, Ghana and Algeria.

In his inaugural address, Manmohan Singh called for turning the 21st century into a ‘century of Asia and Africa’ and described Africa as the “land of awakening”. Furthermore, he showered a number of munificent incentives such as a pledge that India would double financial credit to African countries and regional economic groups to $ 5.4 billion in the next five years.

Crucially, the Prime Minister also promised to provide more than $ 500 million over the next five years in grants for development projects in the areas of railways, information technology, telecom, and power in Africa. This in fact, is a testament to India’s commitment for overall development and progress so as to see Africa find its rightful place in the world.

“The objective of our partnership is to cooperate with all the countries of Africa, within the limits of our capacities and capabilities, in the efforts towards achieving economic vibrancy, peace, stability and self-reliance. Towards this end, it is our intention to become a close partner in Africa’s resurgence,” he stressed.

In addition, India would also allow duty-free imports and provide preferential market access for exports from all the 50 least-developed countries, with as many as 34 from the African continent. Products covered by the plan include aluminum and copper ore, cotton, cocoa, ready-made garments, non-industrial diamonds, cashew nuts and cane sugar.

Importantly, the two-way trade between India and the African continent has increased by 285 per cent and totals about $ 30 billion a year. Consequently, this has raised Africa’s share in India’s global trade from 5.8 per cent in 2002-03 to nearly 8 per cent in 2006-07.

African Union Commission (AU) Chairperson Alpha Oumar Konare, representing the AU at the Summit earmarked “infrastructure, health, education, science and food security were areas where we want Indian know-how.” He also urged Africa to shed its image of being a ‘mere market for raw materials, purchased at low prices.’

The Summit adopted two documents, the Delhi Declaration and the Africa-India Framework for Cooperation, with a sincere aim to augment the “true partnership” to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. The former covers issues of bilateral, regional and international interest to India and Africa, including their common positions on UN reforms, climate change, WTO and anti-terrorism measures.

At the same time, India saw it as an opportune moment at deriving political benefits, by seeking crucial African support at its bid to stake claim for permanent membership of UN Security Council. This political move is an apparent measure by New Delhi to match its growing economic clout in Asia and beyond.

India and African countries agreed to “further strengthen cooperation towards revitalizing and enhancing the role of the General Assembly and reform and expansion of the Security Council. Africa takes note of India’s position and its aspirations to become a permanent member with full rights in an expanded UN Security Council”, the Framework for Cooperation stated.

Notwithstanding the above, India’s hosting this Summit appears as an attempt to shore up its presence in the continent and counter the mounting Chinese influence in the region. Apparently, Beijing often has been touted as New Delhi’s economic competitor and has already invested billions of dollars in Africa when it hosted a similar Summit in November 2006 that brought together leaders from as many as 48 African nations.

Incidentally, China’s involvement in Africa is driven by both oil and diplomacy. Today, imports account for 40 per cent of China’s oil consumption and are expected to reach 60 per cent by 2020. In response, Chinese oil companies have embarked upon a global search for new suppliers. In Africa, they have found them in nations such as Angola, Chad, Congo, Libya and the Central African Republics.

China became the world’s second-largest consumer of petroleum products with its imports of natural gas, copper, cobalt and other key sources rising by as much as 20 per cent annually. This search for resources takes China to commodity-rich Africa that is home to major oil producers, including Nigeria, Sudan, Angola and Gabon.

Chinese interest in the African continent amply illustrates that its galloping economy is spurring Beijing to make every possible attempt to deepen its African ties and adopt a higher global profile.

Albeit in case of India and Africa, both regions are looking for opportunities to invest in each other’s nations, with New Delhi especially keen to gain access to African oil. It is estimated that Africa has $ 30 billion worth of untapped oil and gas assets.

This Summit noticeably exhibits India’s desire at making an attempt towards balancing the growing influence of China in Africa, while simultaneously exhibiting political influence and economic clout far from its borders in Asia and beyond.—INFA

 (Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)