Context: Every year, 25th May is celebrated as Africa Day to commemorate the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (now known as the African Union). India has been closely associated with it on account of its shared colonial past and rich contemporary ties.
Background

• Africa Day is observed every year on May 25 to commemorate the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (now known as the African Union).
• India has been closely associated with it on account of its shared colonial past and rich contemporary ties.
• The Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses has hosted an Africa Day Round Table annually for the last four years in order to commemorate this event.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Africa

• Recession: COVID-19 outbreak has sparked off the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region’s first recession in 25 years.
• Unemployment: Growth is expected to plummet to between -2.1 and -5.1 per cent in 2020, from a modest 2.4 per cent in 2019 which leads to more job losses
• Deepens Health Crisis: With high rates of HIV, malaria, diabetes, hypertension and malnourishment prevalent in Africa, COVID-19 pandemic will further deepen the health and economic crisis. 
• Impacts economic model: The steep decline in commodity prices has spelt disaster for the commodity dependent economies of Nigeria, Zambia and Angola.
• Possibility of Increased Public debt: According to the World Bank, the SSA region paid $35.8 billion in total debt service in 2018, 2.1% of regional GDP. This figure is set to increase due to falling revenues & precarious fiscal position of African nations
• Forced to seek aid from international Community: Together, African countries have sought a $100 billion rescue package, including a $44 billion waiver of interest payment by the world’s 20 largest economies.

Economic condition in Africa

• The World Bank’s Africa’s Pulse is a biannual analysis of the near-term macroeconomic outlook for the region.
• Each issue includes a special focus on a particular development challenge that is shaping Africa’s economic future.
• In its April report, it assessed that the COVID-19 outbreak has sparked off the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region’s first recession in 25 years.
• The steep decline in commodity prices has spelt disaster for the economies of Nigeria, Zambia and Angola.
• Precarious fiscal positions have ruled out any major governmental stimulus. Public debt has mounted.
• It is clear that without outside support, Africa will find it very difficult to meet the challenge.

Economic Opportunities in Africa

• Africa’s rich natural resources, long-term economic potential, youthful demography and influence as a bloc of 54 countries in multi-lateral organisations are apparent.
• In recent years, several extra-regional economies have strengthened their engagement with African states, with an eye to rising opportunities, including in energy, mining, infrastructure and connectivity.

Role of China

• China’s engagement of Africa, as elsewhere, is huge but increasingly regarded as predatory and exploitative. Its annual trade with Africa in 2019 stood at $208 billion, in addition to investments and loans worth $200 billion.
• Traditionally, China’s participation in infrastructure projects has been astonishing. Having famously built the 1,860 km Tanzania-Zambia railway line in 1975, and the Addis Ababa-Djibouti and Mombasa-Nairobi lines more recently, China is now eyeing to develop the vast East Africa Master Railway Plan.
• At the Forum for China-Africa Cooperation (COCAC) in 2018, China set aside $60 billion in developmental assistance, followed by a whopping $1 billion Belt and Road (BRI) Infrastructure Fund for Africa.
• China has followed up with robust health sector diplomacy in the wake of the pandemic.
• China’s image was tarnished: This was due to supply of defective PPE gear and discriminatory behaviour against Africans in Guangzhou, leading to an embarrassing diplomatic row.

Engagement with  other countries

• Japan hosted the 7th Tokyo International Conference for African Development (TICAD) in August 2019.
• Russia hosted the first-ever Russia-Africa Summit in 2019.
• Brazil, home to the largest population of people of African descent outside of Africa, has also sought to develop closer ties.
• Cuba has sent medical teams to help Africa.

India’s relationship with Africa

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has redefined India’s relations with Africa. India-Africa trade reached $62 billion in 2018 compared to $39 billion during 2009-10.
• After South Asia, Africa is the second-largest recipient of Indian overseas assistance with Lines of Credit (LOC) worth nearly $10 billion (42 per cent of the total) spread over 100 projects in 41 countries.
• Ties were boosted at the India Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) in 2015.
• Approximately 6,000 Indian soldiers are deployed in UN peace-keeping missions in five conflict zones in Africa.
• Bilateral cooperation includes solar energy development, information technology, cyber security, maritime security, disaster relief, counter-terrorism and military training.

Amidst COVID-19 Crisis

• India has already dispatched medical assistance to 25 African countries and PM Modi has had a telephonic talk with President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa who is the current chairperson of the African Union, and separately with others such as the Presidents of Uganda and Ethiopia.
• The Minister of External Affairs has also reached out to counterparts in Africa to reiterate India’s support in the fight against the coronavirus.

What should India do?

• India could consider structuring a series of virtual summits in zonal groups with African leaders across the continent over the next few months that could both provide a platform for a cooperative response to the pandemic and also serve as a precursor to the actual summit in the future.
• The Aarogya Setu App and the E-Gram Swaraj App for rural areas for mapping COVID-19 are technological achievements that could be shared with Africa.
• Since the movement of African students to India for higher education has been disrupted, India may expand the e-VidyaBharti (tele education) project to establish an India-Africa Virtual University.
• With the locust scourge devastating the Horn of Africa and the pandemic worsening the food crisis, India could ramp up its collaboration in this sector.
• It is also time for the Quad Plus, in which the US, India, Japan and Australia have recently engaged other countries such as the ROK (South Korea), Vietnam, New Zealand, Israel and Brazil, to exchange views and propose cooperation with select African countries abutting the Indian Ocean.