Improvement in India-Africa trade
Recently the Union Minister detailed the progress made in bilateral trade of both the sides at the 18th CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India-Africa Growth Partnership.
- India’s bilateral trade with Africa was set to increase by 9.26% to about $100 billion in the financial year 2022-23. India aims to double the trade volume to US$ 200 billion by 2030.
- India-Africa bilateral trade is in balance. Exports to the tune of US$ 51.2 billion and imports to the tune of US$ 46.65 billion in the financial year 2022-23.
India-Africa Partnership:
- The partnership between the two sides has a long history. There has been solidarity and political contact between India and Africa since the early 1920s.
- This was the period when India and African countries were fighting against the colonial rule and their oppression.
- However, India’s economic partnership with Africa began to grow rapidly in the early 2000s.
Importance of Africa for India:
- Africa has abundant reserves of mineral oil and natural gas. These reserves can help ensure India’s energy security.
- The African region (especially the Horn of Africa region) is critical to India’s security.
- The support of African countries becomes crucial in India’s ambition to get permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
Development initiatives taken by India in Africa:
- 27 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in Africa are benefiting from duty-free tariff preference on a non-reciprocal basis.
- India provides concessional Line of Credit (LoC) to African countries for construction of railway lines, electrification projects, agricultural mechanization etc.
- Several African countries are participating in the International Solar Alliance (ISA).
- Initiatives like e-Vidya Bharti, e-Arogya Bharti, Vaccine Maitri have been started.
Source – PIB
