{"id":23412,"date":"2024-04-03T18:21:58","date_gmt":"2024-04-03T12:51:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=23412"},"modified":"2024-04-04T01:44:05","modified_gmt":"2024-04-03T20:14:05","slug":"india-and-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/editorial-analysis\/03-04-2024\/india-and-africa","title":{"rendered":"India and Africa: Forging a Strategic Partnership"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS 2\/IR<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-873ffcac17312d622aaad4a62cf4861e\" style=\"color:#015aa7\"><strong>In News&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Present circumstances call for a new chapter in India-Africa relations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-79cdb4d29e989843e0383b87eaca714d\" style=\"color:#015aa7\"><strong>&nbsp;India-Africa relations<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India and Africa have a time-honoured partnership based on shared values and the country enjoys considerable goodwill within Africa.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India\u2019s trade with Africa has grown from US$ 68.5 billion in 2011-12 to US$ 90.5 billion in 2022-23 and Indian investors have also expanded their footprint in Africa.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India is now one of the top five investors in Africa .<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-c4356fb037a98f74125f8b2a511fa975\" style=\"color:#015aa7\"><strong>Developments&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India and Africa have made effective contributions to protect the interests of developing countries at international fora, particularly the<strong> World Trade Organisation (WTO).<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>They moved joint proposals such as the <strong>Agriculture Framework Proposal <\/strong>and India and South Africa proposed an intellectual property right waiver for <strong>COVID-19 vaccines at the WTO.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India used its G20 presidency to solidify its position as the leader of the Global South.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The African Union became a full member of the G-20<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Indian investments in Africa reached $98 billion in 2023, with trade totalling $100 billion.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Indian social enterprises and NGOs are exporting low-cost, scalable solutions, from eco-friendly houses to rural women solar engineers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-77e5d37a3dd546681465c0e561a13413\" style=\"color:#015aa7\"><strong>Importance&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Africa\u2019s significant growth rate of <strong>3.8 per cent<\/strong> and its young population, with 60 per cent under the age of 25, estimated to reach 1.1 billion people by 2040.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>&nbsp;Global forums: <\/strong>&nbsp;Africa\u2019s influence in global forums will be important for India\u2019s vision for global governance.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&nbsp;As the Global South houses three-fourths of humanity and over 39 per cent of the global GDP.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cooperation in the critical minerals sector: <\/strong>&nbsp;Africa, with 30 percent of the world\u2019s mineral reserves, is vital to power the energy transition.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>To <strong>build solar panels and batteries necessary for a low-carbon future<\/strong>, access to minerals classified as \u201c<strong>critical\u201d, \u201ctransition\u201d or \u201cgreen<\/strong>\u201d is key.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&nbsp;Given the geographical concentration of critical minerals, diversifying sources and fostering strategic partnerships with resource-rich nations are imperative for India\u2019s growth and national security.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-852de0420489958706153d3718353d4a\" style=\"color:#015aa7\"><strong>Challenges&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>twin shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic<\/strong> and the<strong> Ukraine-Russia conflict <\/strong>have dealt heavy blows to African economies and much of the continent is currently reeling under<strong> debt distress and food insecurity.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>China <\/strong>has emerged as one of largest trading partners and one of largest investors in the African continent through its steady diplomacy and extensive economic engagement.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The<strong> inordinate delay<\/strong> in the <strong>fourth India-Africa Forum Summit<\/strong>, after three consecutive summits in 2008 (New Delhi), 2011 (Addis Ababa), and 2015 (New Delhi), does not bode well for the partnership.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-e2418cc5398a3a7f2d9236aad7d7492c\" style=\"color:#015aa7\"><strong>Conclusion and Way Forward&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In this era of geopolitical competition and realignment, India\u2019s multifaceted relationship with African nations is poised for a fundamental transformation.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>As India\u2019s aspirations for the Global South take shape, leveraging historical partnerships with African countries remains imperative.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India should actively engage with the AU to hold the India-Africa Forum Summit as soon as possible.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The India-Africa Forum Summit should build on the gains made at the G20 summit and spell out the agenda for the future.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Africa\u2019s food security and agricultural<\/strong> transformation should be one of the top priorities for India-Africa engagement in the coming years.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Given India\u2019s longstanding commitment to education and capacity building in Africa, New Delhi could revamp existing collaborations or establish new ones with African technical organisations.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This endeavour would bolster negotiation skills, training in project management, and devising industry-specific technical courses.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Indian research institutes engaging with Africa\u2019s research community can facilitate the creation of solutions to address Global South challenges.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Mains Practice Question&nbsp;<\/strong><br><strong>[Q] <\/strong>The most visible aspect of India\u2019s cooperation with the Global South is its engagement with Africa.Discuss&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Daily-Editorial-Analysis-03-04-2024.pdf\">Download PDF<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Present circumstances call for a new chapter in India-Africa relations..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editorial-analysis"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23412"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23412\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23421,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23412\/revisions\/23421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}