Africa on Delhi's mind
Source: By Harsh V Pant: Deccan Herald
President Ram Nath Kovind visited Africa earlier this month on his first official visit and the government rightly chose Djibouti and Ethiopia as his destinations. As the Ministry of External Affairs pointed out, “Africa is chosen as the first destination of the President’s overseas visit — an index of the importance attached to the African continent by the current government.” The Modi government has been keen on expanding its profile in Africa, a continent with which India has shared historic ties and one where major powers today are scrambling for influence.
Djibouti is emerging as a key state in the Indian Ocean region. The construction of the Djibouti naval base — China’s first military base abroad — has generated varied reactions around the world. The base is seen as a move pushing China’s own limits to its foreign policy, and underscores its growing security profile in Africa. This new military foray in Africa, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a press conference in 2016, was part of Beijing’s willingness to “play a constructive role in the political settlement of international and regional issues, so as to create a more secure and stable environment for China’s development overseas”, and to “take on more international security responsibilities.”
Indeed, China’s growing military profile in Africa is following its economic footprint on the continent. It is moving towards an ever more expansive definition of its global interests, as its business in Africa pushes it to create new mechanisms for securing those interests, including a growing military footprint abroad.
Djibouti has been very welcoming of Indian presence in the country and had helped India during the evacuation of our nationals from Yemen in 2015. With Ethiopia, India has had traditional ties and it remains the largest recipient of India’s concessional Lines of Credit in Africa. Both nations are key for India’s Africa outreach. President Kovind invited business stakeholders in Ethiopia and Africa to partner with India, underlining that India is now among the top three foreign investors in Ethiopia. “Indian investments in Ethiopia has had a significant presence in manufacturing and value addition to local resources. They have created jobs in this country and contributed to the prosperity of Ethiopian families,” he said.
His visit saw the signing of two bilateral agreements, the first on trade facilitation and the second related to the information, communication and media sector. Addressing the Indian community in Djibouti, President Kovind, who became the first Indian leader to visit Djibouti, spoke about India’s high growth trajectory and said it is opening new opportunities for collaboration.
With the India-Africa summit in 2015, the Modi government had signalled its readiness to step up its engagement with Africa, a relationship which is centuries-old, bolstered by trade across the Indian Ocean and a million-strong diaspora across Africa. Shared colonial legacy and post-independence development experience have framed India’s relationship with Africa. India’s role as a champion of anti-colonialism and anti-racism after its independence in 1947 drew it closer to the African nations.
Since the end of the Cold War, and propelled by China’s growing profile in Africa, India is re-invigorating its ties with the African continent. The cooperation framework agreed at past India-Africa summits and the Indian initiatives to scale up investment and aid to Africa have underscored India’s aim to foster a robust partnership between New Delhi and the African continent.
India today has growing stakes in Africa. With some of the fastest growing nations in the world, the Africa of today is not the ‘dark continent’ of the past. The needs of its regional states are divergent and their strengths are varied. India’s focus over the last few decades has largely been on capacity building on the continent, providing more than $1 billion in technical assistance and training to personnel under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme. India has committed $7.5 billion to African infrastructure, covering 137 projects in more than 40 countries. India has also offered duty-free market access to Africa’s least developed countries. But India’s trade with Africa remains far below potential.
Developmental partnership
India wants a ‘developmental partnership’ with Africa to be the cornerstone of its economic ties with the region. This also allows India to differentiate itself from the principles on which countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the traditional donors of foreign aid, have based their relations with the recipient countries.
Beijing’s policy of using financial and military aid to secure oil fields in Africa has resulted in New Delhi losing out. The fierce competition between China and India for resources and energy to fuel their economies has been likened to the so-called scramble for Africa among European countries in the 19th century. This is a competition only in name, as India lags far behind China in Africa. Where China’s response toward the region has been well-coordinated across various government agencies, India has failed to project a united front. The Indian government will have to support its companies more proactively if it hopes to close the gap with China in terms of its economic profile on the continent.
Yet, India has its own strengths in its dealings with Africa. Its democratic traditions make it a much more comfortable partner for the West compared to China in cooperating on Africa-related issues. India is viewed as a more productive partner by many in Africa because Indian companies are much better integrated into African society and encourage technology transfers to its African partners. New Delhi will have to leverage its own strengths in making a lasting compact with Africa and regain its lost presence on the continent. President Kovind’s visit has underlined the continuing salience of Africa in India’s foreign policy matrix and New Delhi’s resolve to build long-term partnerships on that continent.
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