India’s Africa Policy Needs Sustained Engagement, Not Periodic Summits

Syllabus: GS2/International Relations

Context

• The Fourth India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS IV) is scheduled to be held in May, 2026 assumes significance as Africa has emerged as a major arena of strategic competition involving global powers.
• India seeks to revitalise its engagement with Africa through a more institutionalised and process-driven partnership aligned with African priorities.

About India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS)

• It is the premier platform for cooperation between India and African nations. It was launched to strengthen political, economic, developmental, and strategic ties.
• It aims to enhance South-South cooperation, promote trade, investment, and capacity building, support African development priorities, and strengthen multilateral cooperation on global issues.

Evolution & Past Summits

• First India-Africa Forum Summit (2008): At New Delhi, India
  • Theme: Partnership for Shared Growth
  • Key Outcomes:
    • Focus on capacity building and human resource development
    • Launch of concessional Lines of Credit (LoCs)
    • Expansion of Pan-African e-network projects
• Second India-Africa Forum Summit (2011): At Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
  • Significance:
    • Strengthened institutional cooperation with the African Union (AU)
    • Greater focus on agriculture, infrastructure, and education
  • Major Initiatives:
    • Support for peacekeeping and governance
    • Scholarships and training programmes under ITEC
• Third India-Africa Forum Summit (2015): New Delhi, India
  • Features: Participation of all 54 African countries
  • India announced: $10 billion Lines of Credit; $600 million grant assistance; and 50,000 scholarships over five years.
  • Focus Areas: Blue economy, renewable energy, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, and counterterrorism cooperation.

Present Status

• Fourth India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS IV) was originally due in 2020 but got delayed, and since then, Africa’s strategic partnerships have diversified rapidly.
  • India now faces stronger competition from China (FOCAC), European Union, Japan, South Korea, France and Germany.
• India aims to transform the IAFS from a periodic summit into a sustained strategic engagement framework.

Significance of India-Africa Forum Summit

• Strategic Importance: Africa occupies a critical geostrategic position in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
  • Cooperation enhances India’s role in maritime security, anti-piracy operations, and counterterrorism.
  • It is related to India’s SAGAR doctrine and Indo-Pacific strategy.
• Economic Opportunities: Africa is rich in critical minerals, oil and gas, rare earth elements.
  • Bilateral trade between India and Africa exceeds $100 billion.
  • Key areas include renewable energy, digital economy, infrastructure, and agriculture.
• Energy and Resource Security: Africa is vital for energy diversification, securing lithium, cobalt, and copper essential for green technologies.
• Development Partnership: India’s model differs from China’s debt-driven infrastructure approach.
  • India’s strengths are capacity building, skill development, affordable healthcare and pharmaceuticals, and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)
  • Examples: UPI-like digital systems, telemedicine, E-VidyaBharti and e-ArogyaBharti initiatives.
• Multilateral Cooperation: Africa’s support is crucial for UNSC reforms, climate negotiations, WTO issues, and Global South solidarity.
• India and Africa share common concerns regarding climate justice, development finance, and technology access.

What are the Core Issues and Concerns?

• Lack of Institutional Continuity: Engagement often remains summit-centric, and absence of robust inter-summit monitoring mechanisms weakens implementation, and may result in a gap between commitments and delivery.
• Increasing Global Competition in Africa: China’s Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) remains highly institutionalised.
  • Other active players are EU-Africa Summits, Japan’s TICAD, and Korea-Africa initiatives.
  • India risks being viewed as an ‘episodic’ rather than ‘strategic’ partner.
• Weak Regional Engagement: India’s earlier three-tier Africa framework i.e. bilateral, regional, and Pan-African has weakened over time.
  • It is because of limited engagement with African Union Commission (AUC), and Regional Economic Communities (RECs).
• Trade and Connectivity Challenges: Low connectivity and logistical barriers, and limited Indian private-sector investment compared to China.
• Delayed Project Execution: Several Lines of Credit and infrastructure projects face bureaucratic delays, financing bottlenecks, and coordination challenges.
• Underutilisation of Emerging Sectors: Potential sectors needing stronger institutional cooperation renewable energy, climate finance, AI governance, digital economy, and food security.

Way Forward: Strengthening India-Africa Forum Summit

• Institutionalise Engagement Beyond Summits: India should conduct annual India-Africa strategic dialogues, invite the AUC Chairperson regularly, and host the AU rotating chair for state visits.
  • It would ensure continuity and political visibility.
• Revive the Three-Tier Africa Framework: Need to strengthen bilateral diplomacy, regional engagement through RECs, and Pan-African cooperation with AU institutions.
• Establish Mid-Cycle Review Mechanisms: Regular monitoring through India-Africa review meetings, and diplomatic consultations in New Delhi and Addis Ababa.
  • It can improve implementation and accountability.
• Focus on African Priorities: As India’s Prime Minister stated in Uganda (2018), ‘Africa’s priorities will guide India’s partnership’.
  • India should align cooperation with Agenda 2063 of the African Union, climate resilience, food security, and youth employment.
• Expand Digital and Development Cooperation: India can leverage its experience in Digital Public Infrastructure, Aadhaar-like systems, FinTech inclusion, and affordable healthcare.
  • It creates a people-centric development partnership.
• Strengthen Economic Engagement: Measures like faster LoC implementation, promote private-sector participation, expand India-Africa trade corridors, and support local manufacturing in Africa.

Conclusion

• The Fourth India-Africa Forum Summit comes at a crucial geopolitical moment when Africa is becoming central to global economic and strategic competition. India enjoys deep historical goodwill rooted in anti-colonial solidarity, South-South cooperation, and developmental partnership.
• India needs to move from summit-driven diplomacy to sustained institutional engagement based on implementation, continuity, and responsiveness to African priorities.
• If effectively restructured, IAFS IV can transform India-Africa ties into a credible, contemporary, and mutually beneficial strategic partnership for the Global South.

Source: IE