Potential enormous; tip of iceberg has been explored until now
In what is a welcome move, India has continued with its aggressive push towards greater engagement with African countries, keeping trade and geo-strategic interests in mind. The spectre of China is there, of course, given that the regional power has expanded its footprints across the African continent over the last decade or so in particular. This does not, however, mean that India should be either seeking to deliberately match Beijing's achievement or working to downgrade it. New Delhi must instead pursue its self-interest (that merges with the African interest) and, if in that process, it manages to stand up favourably to the Chinese hold, it would be the icing on the cake. The recent meeting of the African Development Bank Group in Gujarat, where several delegates from African countries had gathered and which Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed, should admirably take the India-Africa relationship a notch higher. Even since the successful hosting of the India-Africa Forum Summit in end-2015, which had seen a record participation of African heads of state and Government, the BJP-led NDA regime has been working to a plan to scale up its dealing with Africa. Several important high-level delegations have since visited Africa and many from there have come to India. This stepped-up interaction is working to avoid miscommunication or lack of communication pitfalls and opening doors for enhance investments by India into African countries. The potential, needless to say, is enormous. The total trade between India and Africa went up by nearly five-fold between 2005-06 and 2015-16, and it now stands at $52 billion. India's export to Africa registered an annual growth rate of 5.6 per cent between 2007-08 and 2016-17, and is at $23 billion. Indian imports from Africa too have gone up from $20 billion in 2007-08 to $28 billion in 2017-08. These are significant figures but when one takes into account the colossal markets of both India and the African nations put together, bilateral trade has perhaps only touched the tip of the iceberg. The Group meeting should help realise the untapped potential.
Admittedly, while the Modi Government has injected a new impetus to ties, India has been reaching out to Africa over the past many years. In 2006, it had initiated an aid programme by building the Pan-Africa e-Network, which happens to be the continent's biggest tele-education and tele-medicine project. More than 45 African nations are linked with schools and hospitals through satellite and fibre-optic network. In 2011, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had announced a $700 million investment by India into the education sector in several African nations, and a five billion dollar line of credit as well. India also budgeted $63 million in aid to African countries in 2014-15. The question, however, is not just about enhancing India's financial footprint in Africa. The challenge lies in effective and swift implementation of India-driven projects.