The four-day summit conference of all the 54 African countries with India, which ended in New Delhi on Thursday, can be deemed to be a new journey for both sides although India’s contact with Africa, despite ups and downs, is firmly established and dates back to the anti-colonial movement in that continent which had gained great sustenance from rock-solid Indian political support at international forums under Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. This was warmly recalled from the public platform by the African Union chairperson Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwe President, in New Delhi, who named not just the two former Indian PMs but also their party, the Indian National Congress, whose role and perspectives gave succour to Africa.
This lesson in history could hardly have been music to the ears of Prime Minister Narendra Modi whose trademark is to run down Nehru and Indira in season and out of season. Nevertheless, the journey that PM Modi seeks to embark on is a new one as it aims to infuse vigour into processes that he has inherited, and will hopefully have the vision and the ambition to set his plans on a path from which there can be no turning back. That will depend mainly on the momentum that Mr Modi’s government can generate for Africa in the remainder of his term. The country would fervently hope that the PM’s hopes and plans fructify. The decision is that the India-Africa Forum Summit, as the venture is formally called, is to convene every five years.
This may depend on the speed with which decisions are implemented in the early phase. Under the New Delhi Declaration, the political focus is on India and the African states backing one another in their bid for permanent membership of the UN Security Council. In other areas, emphasis has been laid on employment generation in Africa with Indian assistance in setting up small and medium industries, building capacities in Africa through education, skill development, and suitable health programmes. Private sector involvement will be needed. India is keen to build on the defence and security relationship it has with some countries in Africa.
This implies maritime cooperation in the western Indian Ocean. India and the African states have also agreed to push together for a comprehensive international convention on terrorism, on which the Indian PM appeared to lay some emphasis. This could be a long haul as the US seems to hedge its bets on the definition of terrorism. India has assured stepping up concessional credit substantially, and also grants. Upgrading the Africa Division of the ministry of external affairs with the remit of synergising with other relevant ministries may be called for.
