Op-Ed: A look at how India’s Africa strategy is working

Summary:

India’s engagement with Africa has involved peacekeeping, student scholarships, humanitarian relief, and private and public sector investments. This has been the case for over half a century dating back to the Bandung Conference in 1955 which was held in the spirit of South-South Cooperation.

The conference brought together newly independent nations of Africa and Asia. They had a shared experience of struggle against European colonisation and were facing common developmental challenges.

Forty years later the first India–Africa Forum summit was launched in 2008 in New Delhi. Two subsequent summits were held in Addis Ababa (2011) and New Delhi (2015). A fourth summit has been scheduled for 2020.

These meetings explored areas of mutual collaboration and engagement. They were attended by heads of state and high level ministerial delegations. The key areas of common interest were agriculture and food security, health, education, information technology, climate change and the blue economy.

Our evaluation of the summits confirms that there is value in them – and their outcomes.

Post description:  

  • Publication year: 2019
  • Content type: Op-Ed  
  • Form of cooperation: Comprehensive  
  • Cooperation context: Bilateral  
  • Region (country): Africa  
  • Sector: Multisectoral  
  • Institution (publication):  The Conversation
  • Written by: Meera Venkatachalam and Renu Modi
  • Keywords: South-South Cooperation, Development Cooperation, summits
  • Link: https://theconversation.com/a-look-at-how-indias-africa-strategy-is-working-113658