The continent of Africa, embracing one-fifth of the world's land area, encompassing 54 independent nations and sustaining a population of about 1.2 billion, has for many decades been a pre-eminent concern of India's foreign policy.

Background of India-Africa Relations

• India and Africa share a long and rich history of interaction that dates back to ancient civilisations including the trade ties between the Nile and Indus valleys.
• India shared a colonial heritage with many African countries. It has significantly contributed to this connection as the migration of many Indian workers to Southern and Eastern Africa has established large diasporas in these areas.
• India’s attitude towards its general relations with Africa in the post–World War II era has been directed by principles of South-South cooperation, such as respect for state sovereignty, non-interference, mutual benefit and equality.
• Originally adopted in 1955 at the Bandung Conference, the non-alignment approach was reaffirmed in the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership of 2005.
• Unlike the Western approach to African relations, which can be defined as donor–recipient relationship, India’s broader approach of economic, technical, and cultural cooperation for mutual benefit promotes the values of egalitarian solidarity.
• Indian policymakers aimed to achieve this goal by contributing to international peace and security through UN peacekeeping efforts on the continent, participating in multilateral groupings such as BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) and the India-Brazil-South Africa Dialogue Forum and through its efforts to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council where Africa is seen as a key support base.
• India is a ‘development partner’ of Africa and has placed a growing emphasis on this and other tools of economic diplomacy to ensure it continues to develop and grow in a sustainable manner.
• Africa is endowed with resources which are crucial to fuel the economic powerhouses of India, Brazil and China. The African Union is now in a position to leverage these assets to scale up trade and bilateral exchanges.

Strategic importance of Africa to India

 Geo-political importance

• Africa remains vital for India’s emergence as a global actor in the international institutional arena.
• Both India and Africa are keen to reform the existing global governance structures, especially the U.N. Security Council (UNSC), and shape the emerging global regimes particularly those related to food, energy, climate, water, cyber security and use of outer space for development purposes.
• African continent provides a platform for India to reinforce its soft power through the over two million strong Indian diasporas there.
• Most African nations and different parts of India suffered under the yoke of many of the same colonial powers.
• Also, NAM provided a sense of solidarity and belonging to the newly independent African states and was the first effort at South-South cooperation.
• India aimed to better influence international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and UN Security Council by giving ‘goodwill gestures’ of grants to African countries that could be counted upon as allies in multilateral negotiations.

Economic importance

• Following India’s economic liberalization from 1991 onwards, Africa has emerged and is likely to remain both a crucial source of natural resources and for developing new markets.
• Similarly, India has emerged as a key market not only for Africa’s abundant raw materials but also as a source of investment, technology and capital goods.
• Given its growing market size and rising rate of private consumption, African markets hold significant importance for the Indian economy. The African continent serves as a good market for Indian consumer goods, telecommunications, agriculture, cement and textiles.
• The government’s economic diplomacy towards Africa became particularly pronounced in March 2002 when the Focus Africa Programme, which engages with 24 African countries, was launched alongside the five-year Foreign Trade Policy 2002–2007.
• The areas of future cooperation include infrastructure, mining, information technology, pharmaceuticals and health care, power generation and agriculture.
• Africa also contains a rich reservoir of valuable minerals and metals including gold and diamond. Africa’s vast resources and availability of arable land can not only power Africa’s prosperity but can also become a major source of meeting India’s rapidly growing demand.

Energy Security

• With only 0.3% of the world’s oil reserves yet possessing a staggering one-fifth of the world’s population, India has been importing over half its crude-oil requirements since 1965.
• It is, therefore, unsurprising that three of the top four African trading partners with India (Nigeria, South Africa, Angola and Algeria) are major oil producers.
• Africa’s oil and gas provides energy-starved India with new sources of import, but also allows it to diversify its supply away from the Middle East stranglehold. Similarly, the nascent African oil and gas industry can in turn diversify its markets and can attract Indian investment and import of technology to benefit its own economy.

Food Security

• Food Security is an important concern for India and Africa as both India and the African countries have been ranked low in the Hunger Index.
• Africa has 60% of the arable land in the world but produces 10% of the global food output.
• Indian firms are also beginning to see in Africa a possible solution to their country’s food security challenge, as formerly agricultural lands are lost to urbanization and industrialization.
• A few years ago, for example, two Indian firms, Ms Mashuli Gashmani Ltd. and Angelique invested a total of $12 million in Uganda to establish, respectively, a commercial prawn fishery and turnkey aquaculture development.

Geo-Strategic importance

• India shares the waters of the Indian Ocean with Africa and there are security threats emerging from Africa that not only impact the African nations but also have a strong bearing on India.
• International terrorism has been on the rise in Africa in recent years, extending from Nigeria in West Africa to Somalia in the Horn of Africa. Maritime security challenges such as piracy and illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing are important areas of concern.
• Reports also claim that terrorist groups with linkages in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq have been using Africa as recruiting grounds for jihad.
• The troubling links between Somali and other groups – such as the al-Qaida-affiliated al-Shabab – and militant groups in the Afghanistan and Pakistan region could significantly threaten India’s future security.
• Increased presence of China in Africa further threatens Indian interests in this region. Not only that, the recently inaugurated Chinese military base in Djibouti undermines the Indian position in the Arabian Sea and poses a threat to the sea line of communication in the Gulf of Aden – which holds significance for Indian trade and commercial activities.
• A wide network of some 32 Indian radar stations and listening posts is being developed in the Seychelles, Madagascar and Mauritius, among other countries. This will enable India to monitor shipping across expanses of the ocean. It is also improving its ability to project power in waters it considers its own and is arming friendly countries such as Mauritius. Among other things, India is building a naval and air base on Assumption Island, north of Madagascar and within easy reach of many of east Africa’s newly discovered offshore gas fields.

India’s initiatives for partnership with Africa

Indo- Africa Forum Summit

The India–Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) is the official platform for  African-Indian relations. IAFS will be held once every three years. It was first held from April 4 to April 8, 2008, in New Delhi, India. It was the first such meeting between the heads of state and government of India and 14 countries of Africa chosen by the African Union. Libya and Egypt's heads of state did not attend.

Second India-Africa Forum Summit

During the second India-Africa Forum Summit in Addis Ababa, erstwhile Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh promised a list of new initiatives geared toward supporting African development: a $5.7 billion loan package, including $5 billion in lines of credit and $700 million for new institutions and training programs; $300 million for a railway line between Ethiopia and Djibouti; and even $2 million for the AU mission in Somalia.

India-Africa Summit 2015

The Third India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS-III) was held in New Delhi, India from 26–30 October 2015.  Touted as the most spectacular diplomatic exercise hosted by India since the 1983 Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit, this meeting provides an opportunity for India to rejuvenate relations with the continent. While India’s relations with African countries go back a millennium, in 2008 India began a structured engagement with Africa through the India Africa Forum Summit process. The second summit in 2011 at Addis Ababa expanded this cooperation. The current summit is important in the context of the evolving development partnership, trade and investment ties and the scope for convergence on peace and security issues.

In recent years African countries have experienced high economic growth. Despite Africa’s relatively strong economic performance in recent years, many countries in the continent are grappling with several developmental challenges such as high unemployment, lack of economic transformation, food insecurity, environmental degradation etc. The African countries have recognized these challenges and at the continental level, have formulated Agenda 2063 to deal with these issues.

In this backdrop, India has forged a development partnership with African countries. The focus of the development partnership is on human resource development and capacity building in Africa. India has extended development assistance worth $ 7.4 billion through lines of credit given by the Export-Import bank. These lines of credit have led to the completion of 137 projects in 41 countries across Africa. Apart from this, India had also pledged to set up nearly 100 Indian Africa Training Institutes across the continent.

India’s growing synergy with Africa is evident from the recent trends in trade. The total trade was more than $1 billion in 1990-1991 and has grown to $89.5 billion in 2021-22. India's top export destinations in Africa in 2021-22 were South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Togo, and Kenya. Significantly, India’s private sector has played a pivotal role in the expansion of trade relations. The chambers of industry such as the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) have, through regular trade conclaves, provided a platform for the corporate sectors of India and Africa to interact and forge business ties.

Further, There has been a growing convergence between India and Africa on peace and security issues. Africa like India has a long coastline and is concerned about the threats such as piracy, drug trafficking and the security of sea lanes. In recent years India has deployed its Navy in the Gulf of Aden in the Indian Ocean region in a bid to deal with the piracy challenge. In most parts of Africa, the navies and coast guards are not equipped to deal with this threat. Thus the possibility of India – Africa maritime cooperation is immense. The African countries have developed the Africa Integrated Maritime Strategy 2050 which provides a roadmap to deal with the maritime security challenges and measures to develop the blue economy. This strategy blends well with the Modi government's focus on ocean governance and the economy. Thus the possibility of India extending a hand across the Indian Ocean to promote Samudri Mitrata (Friendship across the Ocean) cannot be discounted.

In the IAFS declaration, the clauses on cooperation on food security, solar power technology, satellite weather research and the ‘blue’, or maritime, economy will probably go the longest way on the India-Africa partnership. India and Africa are a country and a whole continent, and can’t really be compared as equals. The meeting ground is one of the ideas. For years, the common thread was the freedom struggle, with Mahatma Gandhi as a common inspirational link. Going forward, it is still important to unite against new attempts at exploitation, so they are not bullied into adopting unsustainable standards on issues like poverty alleviation or patents for generic drugs that India produces for Africa. It is this futuristic course that draws closer to the ties between the African continent and the Indian subcontinent, described once by Nelson Mandela as ‘the golden thread woven in the common struggles against injustice and oppression.

A few factors, however, set India’s commitments to Africa apart.

Private Sector-Led Partnership

Indian companies already have a strong presence in Africa, and many have identified African markets as promising areas for expansion. Tata, as well as Bharti Airtel (a company which spent $9 billion in asset acquisition last year in Africa), are among the companies leading the way on the continent.

Already, an estimated 2 million Indians are living in Africa, and India is touting a shared history, as well as a common experience of colonialism.

There is also an added advantage for Indian companies seeking business in Africa. Indian companies are familiar with the territory: a diverse population of about 1 billion, and a rapidly growing middle class, as well as weak governance and poverty, are all elements that also define their home country.

India’s New Initiative in Africa: The Asia–Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC)

• During the Africa Development Bank meeting, India unveiled the Vision Document of the Asian Africa Growth Corridor.
• The main objective of the corridor is to enhance growth and connectivity between Asia and Africa.
• The corridor will focus on four areas: Development Cooperation Projects; Quality Infrastructure and Institutional Connectivity; Enhancing Skills, and People-to-People Partnership. Agriculture, health, technology, and disaster management have been identified as the main areas of development cooperation.
• According to the vision document, AAGC will focus on enhancing skills and research and development capacities in Africa.
• It will also strive to develop institutional, industrial and transport infrastructure in the Asia – Africa region. The corridor will facilitate greater people-to-people exchanges amongst the participating countries.
• The AAGC marries India’s brand of human resources development and capacity building with Japan’s objective of delivering quality infrastructure in the region.

African Development Bank

• African Development Bank (AfDB) was founded in 1964.
• At present, the AfDB has 81 members.
• It is headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
• The AfDB comprises three entities - the African Development Bank, the African Development Fund, and Nigeria Trust Fund.
• The AfDB is the premier financial institute of Africa with the mission of helping reduce poverty, improving living conditions for Africans, and mobilizing resources for Africa's economic and social development.
• India hosted the five-day annual meeting of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group in May 2017.
• This was the first time that AfDB is holding its annual meeting in India to bolster ties.

Key Highlights

• Reflecting the significance of agriculture in Africa and in the Bank’s development work, the 2017 Annual Meeting was on the theme: Transforming Agriculture for Wealth Creation in Africa.
• There is a great scope for greater synergy between India and Africa in order to achieve shared goal of rural and agricultural transformation, which would go a long way in reducing rural poverty and improving the quality of lives of rural people.
• AfDB meeting in India was an occasion to further deepen the economic cooperation with the African countries through various other events that have been planned.
• These sessions broadly sensitized Indian industry and fraternity about the Bank’s Agenda especially to help in building a roadmap of how can Indian industry contribute to ‘Industrialise Africa’ and move the continent up in the Global Value Chains (GVCs).
• The Government of India also organized an exhibition in partnership with FICCI during the Annual Meetings of the Bank with an objective to showcase the capabilities of Indian companies in terms of technology, innovation, and start-ups, which could be relevant for African countries.
• The theme of the exhibition was centred around priority areas of the Bank, i.e., the "High 5s” (Energy, Healthcare and Pharma, Agriculture, Industrialization, e-Governance).

Why this meeting of the African Development Bank in Gandhinagar is important?

• India joined the African Development Bank (AfDB) in 1983. However, it is only in 2017, that it hosted the annual meetings of the AfDB and its sister institutions, including finance ministers of member countries, who comprise the AfDB Board of Governors.
• It will be seen as a logical follow-up to the India-Africa Forum Summit in New Delhi in 2015, attended by 40 African heads of state or government and representatives of all 54 countries from the continent.
• After India’s boycott of China’s Belt and Road forum, there will be a keenness to understand the Indian government’s approach to its own connectivity, infrastructure and developmental projects, particularly in geographies where it competes with Beijing.
• The AfDB meeting was a useful reckoner in this regard.

Catching up with China

China’s multilateral exchanges with Africa are growing rapidly. In fact, the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa was built by the Chinese as a gift to Africa from China. This is in addition to China’s serious courting of Africa through diplomacy and development to secure its energy needs.

India’s strategic advantage over China in Africa

• India lacks the material capabilities and the profile to emulate or directly compete with China in Africa. At the same time, it cannot ignore Beijing’s formidable influence and areas where both actors’ interests are increasingly clashing.
• Hence, the debate of Emulation vs. Singular is going on in India regarding the strategies to be followed by India.
• Emanationists are those who believe that India should follow and match Chinese moves in Africa step by step, without any delay or hesitation. They believe Africa is just another strategic context in which India will have to blindly follow and match China’s manoeuvrs, if it wants to keep its great power ambition intact. Emulationist strategies have paid a high price because they ignore the fact that India simply lacks the financial and political capabilities to compete with the Chinese. For example, India’s public oil, gas, mining and infrastructure companies have a long record of bids and chances lost to the Chinese, starting with the 2006 Angola debacle and, more recently, in a large Ethiopian rail project.

India-Africa Maritime Relations

• The past few years have witnessed a reorientation in India’s nautical outlook towards Africa.
• With increasing emphasis on developing maritime relationships with Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar, Seychelles and Mauritius, India has reached out to African states through offers of greater military aid, capacity-building and training assistance.
• With its economic engagement in the African continent growing rapidly, New Delhi has also sought to widen its sphere of influence in the Western Indian Ocean. Indian naval ships have increased their port visits to Africa’s East coast and smaller Indian Ocean island states - in a display of a more purposeful maritime diplomacy.
• India’s essential approach to maritime cooperation, however, has revolved around its central security concern in African waters – security against piracy off the Horn of Africa.
• The Indian Navy has played a significant part in tackling Somali piracy, with Indian warships escorting nearly 3000 merchantmen in the Gulf of Aden since 2008.
• While it has contributed to the security of the small island states in the Indian Ocean – patrolling the Exclusive Economic Zones of Mauritius and Seychelles, carrying out hydrographic surveys, and providing assistance in the establishment of a coastal radar network – the Indian Navy’s security initiatives have been animated by the need to secure energy and resource shipments in the waters off Somalia.

Criticism

• India’s security role in Africa’s continental littorals has struggled to move beyond the anti-piracy agenda.
• While Indian naval ships have been involved in collaborative security efforts in the Gulf of Aden and the East African coast, institutional capacity-building efforts – in terms of the provision of security and surveillance assets and critical technology to African navies and coast guards to help them perform basic constabulary functions – have remained rudimentary.
• With rising economic development and the gradual integration of African states into the global economy, Africa’s maritime sector has shown great promise for economic development.
• But even as African institutions and governments (earlier indifferent to Africa’s systemic lacunae in the maritime sector) have come together to secure the nautical commons, New Delhi has been lacking in its contribution to Africa’s maritime developmental needs.
• More crucially, Africa’s efforts to evolve a harmonizing vision for the continent’s economic sector have received little help from New Delhi.
• With a rise in pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea and India’s inability to contribute substantively to West Africa’s security needs, an impression has been created that New Delhi remains reluctant to provide security assistance in spaces deemed geopolitically unimportant.

Challenges

• Although the Indian engagement with Africa is expanding, there are still a number of challenges.
• First is the implementation of the pledges made during the last two India- Africa Forum summits. During the first India - Africa summit India offered to set up 19 institutions to help in capacity building in Africa. India will have to move at a faster pace to implement these projects.
• Conflict between Sudan and South Sudan has brought to the fore the high-risk nature of investments in the African region.
• India has been criticised often in the past for its “visibility deficit” in Africa compared to other major powers - particularly the Chinese in Africa. Chinese high-level visits to the African continent have been quite regular. In absolute numbers, Indian development assistance is not commensurate with other actors in Africa, such as China and the United States.
• India’s development cooperation is theoretically demand-driven, which would make it more egalitarian and less exploitive in nature. However, India’s economic inroads into Africa cannot be separated from the controversy over some of its deals such as its oil exploration contract with Sudan and trade agreements with Zimbabwe.
• According to one report, many Indian companies were involved in a land-grabbing spree in Ethiopia. Leasing of 600,000 hectares (1.5m acres) of prime farmland to Indian companies has led to intimidation, displacement, repression, detentions, rapes, beatings, environmental destruction etc.
• Similarly, while India considers its peacekeeping role, particularly in Africa, a singular contribution to the continent and the U.N., not all African nations have a similar positive outlook. In some instances, alleged sexual and financial misconduct by Indian peacekeepers has marred India’s credentials.
• Although India is trying to reinforce its soft power approach in Africa through the over two million strong Indian diaspora there. This approach, though, is likely to have limited impact given that the “identity” issue of the Indian diaspora in Africa is more complex than that in other regions of the world. Having settled in Africa for generations, the Indian diaspora relates more to their “African” identity than their “Indian” identity.
• This is bound to complicate Indian efforts to propagate diaspora diplomacy in Africa, as the lure of the motherland is not as strong as in other countries with large populations of Indian origin.
• The penetration of India into Africa impinges on wider socio-cultural questions. However, India’s poor knowledge about Africa, often based on colonial stories and selective reports on famines, droughts and wars, have created distorted images.
• In Africa, too, images of India, based on a mix of romantic Bollywood movies and songs, the behaviour of Indian traders, and stories about its recent growth, have tended to mask the challenges faced by the nation and the majority of its people.
• There has been increase in racial Attacks on African Students in India. In April 2017, four Africans were brutally assaulted by local residents of Noida, Uttar Pradesh. These racial attacks are creating a strain in their relationship. In 2016, the heads of mission of 42 African countries had threatened to boycott Africa Day celebrations in New Delhi to protest against the ceaseless racist attacks on their citizens in India.

 Future Prospects

• Africa can also benefit tremen­dously is health care and pharmaceuticals, where the Indian government and private enterprises can be major players.
• One area of ICT that could be of par­ticular benefit to Africa is online education. India is a world leader in this field, alongside countries like the United States, and the industry is expected to be worth $1 bil­lion by the end of the decade. In Africa, the high demand for further education and the rapid growth in Internet penetration cou­pled with the lack of skilled teachers and teaching infrastructure means that the con­ditions are ideal for large-scale growth of Internet-based courses.

Conclusion: A New Era in Cooperation

• India is well-placed to earn the good will of African nations. Where the West is seen as neo-imperialist and China as self-serving, India has an opportunity to create strong ties on a number of levels: political, diplomatic, economic and social. India’s biggest hope is that while China’s investments are exploitative, India’s are aimed at African people.
• India also provides a different model of development – a model of pluralistic, multicultural, demo­cratic set-up that suits the African countries with their myriad ethnic, linguistic, religious and tribal divisions.

India-Kenya Relations

Background

• Following Kenyan independence in December 1963, a High Commission was established. India has an Assistant High Commission in Mombasa.
• There have been a series of high level exchanges between India and Kenya since then.
• In 2016, the Indian PM visited Kenya.
• In January 2017, President of the Republic of Kenya, Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta paid a state visit to India.

Economic relations

• An India-Kenya Trade Agreement was signed in 1981 under which both countries accorded Most Favoured Nation status to each other.
• Setting up of Joint Trading Committee and a Joint Business Council in 80s reflects the strong economic relations between these countries.
• Kenya is an important trade and investment partner for India. Many Indian companies such as TataChemicals Ltd., Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. Etc. have a business presence in Kenya as do the Bank of India and the Bank of Baroda.
• An India-Kenya Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) was signed in 1989. The 2nd round of negotiations to review the DTAA was held in Nairobi in November 2010.
• Bilateral trade was US$ 4.235 billion during 2014-15. India’s exports were worth nearly US$ 4.12 billion.
• Indian firms have invested in telecommunications, petrochemicals and floriculture etc. and have executed engineering contracts in the power and other sectors.

Development Cooperation

• India had offered several development assistance to Kenya in the form of loans and credit. This includes a loan of Rs.50 million to Government of Kenya in 1982 and Lines of Credit by EXIM Bank to Industrial Development Bank Capital Ltd.
• In 1998, an MoU was signed between the National Small Industries Corporation and Kenya Industrial Estates Ltd. In 2003, an MoU was signed between India Trade Promotion Organisation and Export Promotion Council of Kenya.
• Kenya is among countries planned to be covered by the Pan African e-Network Project that was launched in 2007.
• An Agreement was signed in July 2009 between TCIL and the Kenyan Ministry of Information and Communication regarding the project. Equipment was delivered by TCIL in 2010. VSAT terminals have been installed at Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi (August 2011) and at Maseno University Varsity Plaza for Learning Centre in Kisumu (September 2011).
• The High Commissioner led the Indian delegation at the Summit on the Horn of Africa Crisis hosted by Government of Kenya in Nairobi in September 2011.
• In 2011 the Government of India announced that it will provide humanitarian assistance of US$ 8 million to the countries affected by famine and drought in the Horn of Africa i.e. Somalia, Kenya and Djibouti. The assistance was being provided through the World Food Programme.
• In 2016, India – Kenya signed a MoU for cooperation in the field of standardisation, expertise sharing and mutual trade between Bureau of Indian Standards and Bureau of Kenya Standards.
• According to an agreement of 2016, India will extend a line of credit of $15 million (first tranche of $30 million) to IDB Capital, Kenya, for development of various small and medium enterprises [SMEs] in the east African country.
• An agreement was also signed – during the visit of Indian PM to Kenya in 2016 - for extension of a line of credit of $29.95 million by India to the Kenyan government for upgrade of Rift Valley Textiles Factory (RIVATEX East Africa Limited), Kenya.
• In 2017 – during the visit of President of Kenya to India - a $100 million Line of Credit to Kenya for agricultural mechanization was announced by India.

Academic and Cultural relations

• Government of India offered various scholarships to Kenyan nationals. These include scholarships for professional training in various fields under the Indian Technical & Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme and related schemes and Indian Council of Cultural Relations scholarships.
• A Cultural Cooperation Agreement was signed in 1981. Kenya sent its largest ever sporting contingent to the 19th Commonwealth Games 2010 at New Delhi.

Indian Diaspora in Kenya

• With a population of 42 million, Kenya has great ethnic diversity. The Indian Diaspora in Kenya has vastly contributed to Kenya’s progress.
• Indians were brought in large numbers to work on the Uganda Railroad which joined the port of Mombassa in Kenya. Merchants, artisans and others followed. Eventually, a vibrant community of persons of Indian origin emerged. Today several Kenyans of Indian origin have distinguished themselves as lawyers, judges, doctors and academics.
• The Kenya-India Friendship Association (KIFA) was set up in 1981. There are a large number of associations representing different communities among the Indian Diaspora as well as several places of worship, schools, etc.

Challenges

The Chinese conundrum

• According to the Kenyan Economic Survey released in May 2016, Indian imports were around 252.3 shillings ($2.4 billion), while Chinese imports were 321 billion ($3.09 billion) in 2015.
• While India will find it difficult to win a race with China on financing, Indian money can be stretched in other ways.
• According to the World Bank paper, there is an interesting statistic about the number of jobs created by FDI in Kenya.
• Between 2003-2015, Chinese FDI was only the fifth largest creator of jobs. There have been sporadic protests and attacks on Chinese workers, which media reports state were fuelled by resentment over employment opportunities for locals.
• In contrast, Indian FDI was the top employment generator for Kenyans, creating 7422 jobs during the same period. For Kenya, with a large youthful population, accelerating job creation is an essential part of maintaining domestic stability.

Terrorism

• The Westgate Mall attack of 2013 is a grim reminder of the vulnerability of Kenya towards terrorist activities. Once known as heaven of peace, Kenya has been the target of terror attacks for more than a decade now.
• Lack of infrastructure and energy, and red-tapism, poor governance etc. present various obstacles in front of Indian investors. Many Indian companies like Essar, Reliance Industries etc. have closed their operation in Kenya.
• Like traditional donor, India also attaches conditions of good governance and transparency for loan disbursement. On the other hand, uninterested in the politics of the country, China funds major infrastructure projects in Kenya.

Further avenues of engagement

• India can help Kenya in augmenting its healthcare system.
• Agriculture and leather is another area, which remained unexplored between these two countries.
• India-Kenya can further collaborate in the tourism sector.

Conclusion

• Blending trade, development and culture into a rich mosaic, the India-Kenya relations are unique in many ways.
• The relations dates back to waves of migration from Gujarat to East African counties in the early 19th and 20th centuries and acquired a new force during the anti-colonial struggle, with Kenyan Indians like Makhan Singh and Pio Gama Pinto becoming national figures.
• We need to focus on our strategic advantage to foster greater cooperation with Kenya, which is the East African Power House.

India-Mozambique Relations

Background

• India and Mozambique enjoy close, friendly relations built upon traditional links dating back to the pre colonial period. Traders and merchants from the Indian sub-continent came to Mozambique century back,even before Vasco de Dama set his sails for Africa and India. These traditional links have grown from strength to strength over the years. India consistently lent its support to Mozambique in the latter’s freedom struggle.

Strategic Ties

• Mozambique’s strategic location on the Indian Ocean is of immense interest to India. With a coastline of nearly 2500 km and dominance of two key maritime chokepoints to the Indian Ocean, Mozambique is a perfect fit into Indian drive to build strong security relations with key littoral nations. The development of the important port of Beira is an important part of India’s strategic policy.

Security Ties

• The Indian Navy provides security assistance to Mozambique. India began anti-piracy patrols in the Mozambique Channel in 2012. India has now begun providing training and equipment to the country’s intelligence service.
• India and Mozambique have cooperated on maritime issues in past. Multilaterally, both India and Mozambique as members of Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and also the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) have raised their concerns quite often.
• Bilaterally, India had provided security cover for two important events in Maputo, i.e., the African Union Summit in 2003 and World Economic Forum Summit 2004. In 2010, the Indian navy rescued a Mozambican shipping vessel from pirates off the Mozambican coast.
• In 2015, the two countries agreed to look to broaden defence training beyond the navy and resurrect a dormant joint defence working group.

Bilateral Trade And Investment

• India is now among five major trading partners of Mozambique. During the state visit of Mozambique President H.E. Mr Armando Guebuza to India in 2010, the two countries had set a target to increase the bilateral trade to one billion dollars by 2013.
• India is the 9th largest investor in Mozambique. Indian companies have invested in coal, iron ore and other minerals.
• If the present investments into the gas sector come to fruition, Mozambique could become a source of LNG for India that would rival Qatar--the source of over 90% of India’s present natural gas imports. As of now, India’s Bharat Petro Resources Limited (BPRL) Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Videsh Limited (OVL) and Oil India Limited (OIL) with combined 30 percent stake dominate the Area I gas field in the offshore Rovuma basin.

Community Relations

• The Indian connection with Mozambique is centuries old and has grown over a long time. Muslim traders from Malabar were a part of the commercial establishment long before the arrival of the Portuguese and there were also Hindu traders in Mozambique Island. Presently, there are approximately 20,000 persons of Indian origin, having Mozambican or Portuguese nationalities, and 1500 to 2000 Indian nationals.

Conclusion

• Mozambique is emerging as India’s 21st century partner in Africa. The country best represents the convergence of energy and security interests that define new Indo-African relationship. Mozambique has the potential to emerge as one of the top few sources of energy imports for India, among the largest hubs of Indian investment in Africa and one of India’s closest military allies in the western Indian Ocean.

INDIA-RWANDA

Background

• Since its independence from Belgium in July, 1962, Rwanda was plagued by a protracted and internecine conflict between the three dominant groups viz. Hutu, Tutsi and Twa.
• After the signing of the Arusha Peace Accord in 1993, peace was achieved. However, after the assassination of the Hutu President of Rwanda in April 1994, it once again plunged into violence.
• After the end of the civil war, Rwanda is moving steadily on the path of recovery and national reconciliation.

India-Rwanda Relation

• India-Rwanda share 54 years of bilateral relations which have been termed as fruitful in many sense. Warmth in the relationship can be seen from the fact that several high-level visits have taken place between these two countries in the past.
• Recently the Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari visited Rwanda in February 2017.
• In January 2017, President of Rwanda Mr. Paul Kagame visited India.

Political Relations

• Bilateral relations between India and Rwanda have been cordial and have grown steadily over the years.
• In 1999, Rwanda officially opened its Mission in New Delhi and posted a Charge d’ Affaires. Rwanda appointed its first resident Ambassador in New Delhi in 2001.
• India has taken a decision to open a Diplomatic Mission in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda and the modalities are being worked out.
• The country became a full member of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Free Trade Area (FTA) in 2004 and subsequently in 2007 it was admitted to the EAC.
• India’s bilateral relations with Rwanda got a fillip with Rwanda becoming member of these African Regional Economic Communities (RECs). Rwanda opted to become a member of the Commonwealth in 2009 even though it has not been a British protectorate or a British colony.

Bilateral Development Partnership

• India’s engagement with Rwanda is at three levels viz. at the African Union (AU) level, at level of the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and at the bilateral level.
• India has extended a line of credit for many developmental projects in Rwanda.
• Under the Pan-Africa e-Network project, tele-medicine and tele-education centres were established in Rwanda in 2009.
• An India-Africa Partnership day was held in Kigali during 21-23 May 2014.
• Under the India-US Dialogue on Open Government, an Indo-US-Rwanda Trilateral Open Government Platform Initiative [OPG] has been developed which enables the participating nation to download free software and create a site which provides its citizens access to the government data for innovation, economic development and transparency.

Bilateral Trade

• The bilateral trade between India and Rwanda has been gradually increasing over the last few years, even though in terms of value the total trade remains very modest at US$ 78.10 million for 2012-13.
• Rwanda is also poised to benefit from the Duty Free Tariff Preference (DFTP) scheme extended by India to Least Developed Countries (LDCs). The major items of India’s exports to Rwanda include, among others, pharmaceuticals, vehicles including motorcycles, plastics and machinery.

Indian Community

• Approximately 2500 Indian nationals and PIOs are estimated to be in Rwanda. The Indian community in Rwanda is united under an Indian Association of Rwanda.
• During the genocide of 1994, no Indian national was killed or injured.
• The positive role that the Indian community plays in the Rwandan economy is well appreciated by the Rwandan Government and the people. Rwanda’s only sugar refinery, Kabuye Sugar Factory, is owned by the Madhwanis.

• South Africa is often referred to as the "Rainbow Nation," a term coined by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and later adopted by then-President Nelson Mandela as a metaphor to describe the country's newly developing multicultural diversity in the wake of segregationist apartheid ideology.
• Its economy is the second largest in Africa and the 28th-largest in the world. The country is one of the founding members of the African Union (AU), and has the largest economy of all the members. It is also a founding member of the AU's New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). South Africa has played a key role as a mediator in African conflicts over the last decade in various countries of Africa. The country is a member of the Group of 77 and chaired the organisation in 2006. South Africa is also a member of the Southern African Development Community, Southern African Customs Union, and Antarctic Treaty System, G20 and G8 + 5.
• India’s links with the struggle for freedom and justice in South Africa date back to the period during which Mahatma Gandhi started his Satyagraha movement in South Africa over a century ago. Post Independence imposed a complete -- diplomatic, commercial, cultural and sports -- embargo on South Africa. India worked consistently to put the issue of apartheid on the agenda of the UN, NAM and other multilateral organizations and for the imposition of comprehensive international sanctions against South Africa.
• Formal diplomatic and consular relations with South Africa were restored in November 1993. There has been a steady consolidation of our close and friendly ties with South Africa, both bilaterally and through the trilateral IBSA Dialogue Forum. A number of bilateral agreements have been concluded between the two countries since the assumption of diplomatic relations in 1993 in diverse areas ranging from economic and commercial cooperation, defence, culture, heath, human settlements, public administration, science and technology and education. India’s
• Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC) has been a useful medium of promoting cooperation in development of human resources.
• On June 6, 2003, the Foreign Ministers of India, Brazil and South Africa met in Brasilia and agreed to set up a Dialogue Forum for regular consultations on such matters. Subsequently, in 2006, this was upgraded to Summit level; five Summits have been held so far, the last in Pretoria in October 2011. IBSA Trilateral Ministerial meeting was held in New Delhi in March 2011. 16 Sectoral Working Groups have been established in areas such as health, agriculture, education, human settlements, S&T and defence. South Africa has also been admitted as a member of the BRICS grouping. Ex-Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh visited South Africa in March 2013 to attend 5th BRICS Summit held in Durban.

Commercial & Economic Relations

• On the trade front, the value of bilateral trade has increased from US$ 2.5 billion in 2003-2004 to US$ 13.18 billion in 2012-13. There is a healthy participation of private sector in our growing relationship. Major investors include Tata (automobiles, IT, hospitality, and ferrochrome plant), UB Group (breweries, hotels), Mahindra (automobiles) and a number of pharmaceutical companies, including Ranbaxy, CIPLA, etc as well as IT companies and some investments in the mining sector. There is also growing South African investments in India led by SAB Miller (breweries), ACSA (upgradation of Mumbai airport), SANLAM and Old Mutual (insurance). Today, the South African Indian origin community numbers around 1.5 million and constitutes about 3% of South Africa’s total population.