Africa Makes Its India Pitch
If you say the word “India” in the streets of Cairo, people are likely to reply “Amitabh Bachchan!” and start listing Bollywood movies, said Khaled El Bakly, Egypt’s Ambassador to India at a recent gathering of African ambassadors and Indian journalists in New Delhi.
Findlay Kember/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh speaks with Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, then the chair of the African Union, at the first Africa-India Forum Summit in 2008.
But he was there to discuss more than just Bollywood’s Egyptian following. The diplomats were meeting ahead of the second Africa-India Forum Summit which is set to take place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from May 20 to May 25.
Although the first summit, which took place in New Delhi in 2008, wasn’t groundbreaking, it was the first step toward establishing a framework for cooperation between India and African countries on areas ranging from business, to humanitarian assistance to security. One of the things that came out of it was India’s pledge to grant preferential market access to least developed countries, of which many are African. This year’s summit is likely to look at what has been achieved so far, follow through on those steps and place an even greater emphasis on commercial ties.
The diplomatic gathering in New Delhi last Wednesday offered clues to what may come up at the summit later this month.
The China comparison, which India faces often, is likely to keep lurking in the background. Ties between African countries and China have drawn a lot more attention than those between India and Africa, and many observers asked whether India is–or should be–competing with China on the African continent.
“Competition, particularly with China, is also a reason for New Delhi’s wish to deepen India’s footprint on the continent,” according to a report on India’s engagement with Africa released in December by Chatham House, a London-based think tank.
But it remains unclear on what platform this competition is likely to play out, if at all. “Although India sees China as a competitor in Africa, it has to date lacked the resources and infrastructure to compete directly,” the report noted. And African officials appear to be unclear about what India is trying to accomplish—which is not the case with China.
Speaking on Wednesday, the High Commissioner of South Africa, Harris M. Majeke, said China’s Africa policy has long been clear: massive infrastructure-building in exchange for market access. India’s, however, was harder to pinpoint: “India should spell out its policy, too,” he said.
The ambassadors at the gathering had a few suggestions on what India should focus on. Imports of energy sources, uranium and precious metals, which the report notes have increased dramatically in the last few years, are likely to remain a high priority in India’s strategy on Africa.
Mr. Majeke suggested more could be done in this direction. He said that while “an area India should look at is the exploitation of natural resources,” this should not be limited to the export of raw materials from Africa.
Instead, he suggested natural resources should be processed in Africa itself, allowing more local job creation and the training of a skilled labor force. This is something China has been criticized for not doing, and India could get goodwill by doing so.
Acting High Commissioner of Nigeria, Adeboblo Labiran, also suggested India could do more than just trade with its African partners. Trade with Nigeria, India’s biggest commercial partner in Africa, totaled $8.7 billion in the year through March 2010, mostly in imports to India, according to the latest available annual data provided by India’s department of commerce. (India’s other main African trade partners include South Africa, Angola and Egypt.)
Mr. Albiran, who said that that Nigeria has become a “second home” for many Indians, said the country would welcome a greater Indian presence in areas like healthcare.
Noting that Nigerians already travel to India for medical treatment in large numbers, Mr. Labiran said the next step would be for Indian medical experts to train their counterparts in Nigeria and for Indian hospital to expand their presence there. He also welcomed more investments in the information technology sector, an area in which Indian firms such as Bharti Airtel Ltd. already have a large African presence.
Fuente: India Real Time
