From Mozambique to Egypt, Africa is bursting with many opportunities. India is doing well to tap into them
Ever since the India-Africa Forum Summit was held in New Delhi in October 2015, Africa has been more in India. This is understandable for many reasons not the least being the energy which Africa generates in the global arena.
From Mozambique to Egypt, the continent is bursting with energy and investment potential. Airlines in Africa have detected an opportunity which earlier they were loath to look at. Bombardier business aircraft is a leader all the way, it is taking head on the profitability hurdles in African aviation.
The route which it is taking is of getting a range of private business aircrafts in Africa that suits African conditions. The number of Bombardier business aircraft operators is increasing. Africa business jet fleet has more than doubled in the past 10 years. Bombardier challenger 650 aircraft leads all the way. The same is true of the car industry.
Car rental business is booming. An executive can fly to OR Tambo International Airport from Durban and use the car while in Johannesburg and return to the airport. The example is indicative. The same kind of vitality is visible in other sectors, say typically the business switch from the emphasis on prawns to cooking with gas.
The current economy of Mozambique is drawing heavily on the recent oil and gas discoveries there. Once well-recognised for deprivation, this nation is quickly moving on to a prosperity profile.
This is symbolised in many ways. The recent one is the rise of some old ports. The docks of Maputo are known for their capacity to handle container ships. This dock has not killed fishing in wind-driven dhows. The smell of fish, diesel, and sweet molasses mix together in the air not only to multiply employment but to generate economic value.
There was a time when because of the civil war, the port was nearly killed. The story of the ports revival began over a decade ago.
For the sake of record, it may be useful to recognise that the Maputo port was built in 1903. It was surveyed for Europeans by Vasco da Gama in 1498. By 1972 roughly about 17 million tonnes was being exported from this dockyard. In 1975, with the independence of Mozambique, the port was nationalised. It soon become a ghost port in 1977 and with the onset of civil war, imports shrank to a million tonnes a year.
For a port, to rise from the ashes is always difficult because of the network it needs to distribute the interior. Concerns of security cannot be overlooked in trans-shipment. The port is currently undergoing $1.8 billion facelift. This is certainly a useful message to look at as India comes to term at Maritime India Summit 2016 and its deliberation.
Nothing of this scale could have happened that could be kept alive without keeping in mind the inputs required for education and factoring of concerns of sustainability.
All this is reflecting in the global world order. Egypt membership of the UN Security Council for the period 2016 to 2018 was supported by 179 counties. Clearly there is considerable local engagement among various African nations. These figure prominently from the period of struggle for liberation from Colonialism and realisation of cultural and economic independence.
The Modi Government deserves kudos for putting the emphasis where it is due. Simultaneously, harnessing trade and economic evolution, addressing issues of climatic change and the escalating the threats of terrorism have complicated charting the way forward.
The answer perhaps lies in devising transnational joint policies on key matters. These policies have a direct relationship with national interest and needs to be in sync with the directions which international economic order requires.
The political leadership has an important role to play in this navigation towards the new world order. The economic and scholastic leadership is no less important.
One has to consider the demographic factors. Youths always have a role. It is important to remember that the dimension of experience and age is equally important.
If Africa has been sustained through some very trying times, it is also because the present generation above 50 years to 60 years faced the heat with wisdom and tenacity to bequeath a world in which the youth of today can grow.