Round The World
New Delhi, 31 May 2011
PM’s Africa
Tour
INCREASING INFLUENCE ZONE
By Monish Tourangbam
Research Scholar, School of
International Studies (JNU)
A
first ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Ethiopia, one of the most
important countries in the African Continent, is reason enough to assess the
recent tour, which also included Tanzania. Importantly, Ethiopia’s
Capital Addis Ababa, the venue of the Second Africa-India Forum Summit not only
provided a platform to further India’s
ties with the Continent but also gave an impetus to bilateral ties. Given that Ethiopia
is the Headquarters of the African Union and the UN Economic Commission for Africa.
There
is an added dimension to India‘s engagement with the Continent, in terms of
China’s whopping investment in Africa. The evolving circumstances also present
an opportunity for the African leaders and the African Union as a regional
organization to assess the Continent’s relations with emerging Asian economies
like China and India. The
democratic deficit and multi-pronged development-related issues that plagued
many countries in the region can be better corrected with the rise of economic
opportunities in the Continent.
Besides,
marching globalization is leading to increasing inter-connectedness among countries
and regions in the world. But, countries and regions as a whole need to prepare
for the demands made by globalization and conditions that entail. Certain
polities and systems have become success stories and various others have
trailed behind in coping with the stream of globalization. As such, it is
imperative for countries and regions to assess and learn from each others’
performances.
Definitely,
India is trailing behind China in terms
of the volume of investment. But at the same time, New
Delhi need not exactly ape Beijing’s
footsteps. India
is a cultural force at work, and a benign one at that, which has never provoked
fear in the hearts and minds of the African people with its growth. Although
Chinese investments towards infrastructure building are being welcomed, this is
also accompanied by fears and apprehensions regarding Beijing’s aggressive attitude geared mostly
towards access to African resources and markets.
Officials
accompanying the Prime Minister during his tour reportedly insisted that India’s
economic diplomacy is not being out-smarted by the Chinese, pointing to the
Indian initiatives to build local institutions and capacity in agriculture,
education and training. “The Chinese are absent in many of these areas. We
don't agree that China
has outflanked us here. There is enough place to do what we are good at,” said
a senior official.
Winning
hearts and minds; that is exactly what Prime Minister Singh engaged in once he
landed in Africa. He emphasized on various commonalities saying, “The
tradition in southern India
of using fermented flour for making dosa is
similar to the injara in Ethiopia. The
sight of women with heads covered and men wearing turbans is strikingly common
in Ethiopian and Indian villages.”
A
rising economy like India
is no stranger to disputes pertaining to issues of religion, ethnicity,
inequality, etc. the story of every successful country. But in a democracy,
platforms of discussions and debates over differences cannot be snatched at any
cost. India’s
functioning democracy, in the face of an immensely diverse population is a
lesson that can be exported.
India is still a leaner in this process,
having recently crossed just 60 years of Independence;
but its competence in this process cannot be denied. And Africa as a region
should see opportunities to learn from India’s democratic experiences.
Inter-Institutional
exchanges including training of African officials in Parliamentary and
adjudicatory processes should form important areas of thrust. The 2nd
Africa-India Summit intensified and diversified the momentum built during the 1st
Summit held in New Delhi in April 2008. It is also noteworthy that scholars deliberating on various
aspects of India-Africa relations in the first-ever India-Africa Academic
Conference held in Addis Ababa
on 11-12 May last.
India and Ethiopia
intends to further their cooperation in the field of education and capacity
building. The Pan-African e-Network project in Ethiopia
implemented by India has
connected Addis Ababa
University with the
Indira Gandhi National Open University. India has assisted in a rural electrification
programme in Southern Ethiopia, provided a line of credit of US$ 640 million
for the development of Ethiopia’s
sugar industry, is extending a line of credit of US$ 300 million to support the
new Ethio-Djibouti Railway project.
According to sources, more than 450 Indian companies have
committed upwards of US$ 4 billion in investment in Ethiopia. India-Ethiopia bilateral
trade is slated to reach the target of US$ 1 billion by 2015. Collaboration in the farming sector was one
of the priorities discussed, whereby the Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi
deciding to set aside 3 million hectares of fertile land for foreign investors
to invest in agriculture.
Training African youth in various technical fields was re-emphasized,
with India
also agreeing to provide specialized training to Ethiopian diplomats and trade
negotiators. During his address to the joint session of the Ethiopian Parliament,
PM Singh invoked the importance of tackling piracy.
The Prime Minister’s other stop in the Continent;
Tanzania shares multi-faceted
linkages with India.
India-Tanzania trade stood over US$ 1.1 billion in 2010; India becoming the
second largest investor in Tanzania with total cumulative investments of US$
1.3 billion (till 2009) which has created employment opportunities for 32,000
people. New Delhi
is also providing a new line of credit of US$ 180 million for water supply
projects in Tanzanian Capital Dar es Salaam.
India is also offering US$ 5
billion for the next three years under lines of credit to help achieve the
development goals of Africa; an additional US$
700 million directed towards establishing new institutions and training programmes
in consultation with the African Union and its institutions.
An India-Africa Virtual
University has been
proposed and a number of joint-effort institutions were projected enhancing and
broadening the various levels of engagement. In a noteworthy development, the
African Union would consider, as soon as possible, the establishment of an
office in New Delhi
India’s assistance to African countries in the material sense should
translate to gains in political consensus building and unity at international
fora regarding issues of importance to both India
and Africa. Structural convergence is as important
as assistance and cooperation at the micro-level. In fact, the two should be
complementary to each other.
In addition, high level visits between India and African countries needs
to be dramatically increased. This is not all. Military exercises and other
forms of cooperation in the defence sector should be exploited.
Undoubtedly, a proper framework
defines the trajectory of the relationship between India
and Africa. As the future of international
politics lies in how developments are shaped in countries and regions
traditionally deemed peripheral. This is yet another reason as to why
India-Africa relationship needs to be studied intensely. This is the future.
However, a better tomorrow always depends on how one makes use of the
opportunities given today. ---- INFA
(Copyright, India
News and Feature Alliance)
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