New Delhi: Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday reiterated that India staunchly supported African countries in their quest to attain independence and fight against colonialism and apartheid.
"India and Africa have longstanding trade and economic linkages. India staunchly supported African countries in their quest to attain independence and fight against colonialism and apartheid. This is important to recall because our ties are not transactional but represent the solidarity of a shared struggle," Jaishankar said at the 18th CII-EXIM Bank Conclave here.
According to the External Affairs Minister, Africa, therefore, occupies an important place in India's foreign policy. "Our engagement with the continent in the past nine years has witnessed 36 high-level visits from India and over 100 high-level visits from Africa to India", he said.
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Jaishankar also noted that India believes in forging a development partnership with Africa, based on the needs and the priorities of the partners. "We are there for the long-term, with a focus on promoting capabilities and creating capacities. For India, the rise of Africa is key to global rebalancing," added the External Affairs Minister.
Being a trusted partner of Africa in its journey of socio-economic development, Jaishankar stressed that "India has extended concessional loans of over USD 12.37 billion. Since 2015, India has also extended substantial grant assistance." According to the Union minister, India has completed 197 projects, 65 more are currently under execution and 81 are at the pre-execution stage and the projects have generated local employment.
Jaishankar also said during the COVID-19 pandemic, India continued unabated its engagement with Africa. "To support our friends in Africa, India provided medical support to 32 countries. From January 2021 till March 2023, we supplied 'Made in India' Covid vaccines to 42 countries. This was in line with our Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of 'One Earth One Health'".
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"We are now encouraging Indian pharma manufacturers and vaccine manufacturers to explore joint manufacturing facilities in African countries. Equally important, we have fought in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) with our African partners for enhancing the accessibility and affordability of vaccines," he added.
Saying that India’s bilateral trade with Africa has reached USD 98 billion in 2022-23 compared to USD 89.6 billion in the previous year, Jaishankar exuded confidence that the bilateral trade between India and Africa will soon cross the USD 100 billion mark.
Jaishankar further said, "At the Varanasi G20 Ministerial Meeting of Development Ministers, we got unanimous agreement on a 2023 Action Plan on Accelerating Progress of the Sustainable Development Goals and the adoption of the High-Level Principles on Lifestyles for Sustainable Development. Both outcomes have a direct implication for Africa's progress and prosperity".
He reiterated that India is keen to share its experiences and know-how to help Africa in its energy transition through the rapid deployment of clean energy technologies.
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