The India-Africa partnership is set for a major makeover as both sides seek economic self-reliance to insulate their respective economies from external shocks.
- India’s reforms process resonates with Africa’s aspirations of accelerating its infrastructure development, manufacturing growth, farm sector modernization, services sector expansion, digital transformation, and reliable healthcare services to build self-sufficiency.
- India’s model of cooperation with Africa has been demand-driven, consultative, and participative, involving local resources, supported by capacity-building initiatives, and based on Africa’s prioritization of its needs
- AfCFTA – African Continental Free Trade Area which came to the ground shows that India is keen to play a partnership role by participating strongly physically.
- FTA is expected to push up intra-regional trade from the current level to 17% of Africa’s total trade to an estimated 52% in five years with the removal of tariffs on 90% of the goods.
- Indian industry would be encouraged to establish businesses in the 230 special economic zones (SEZs) in Africa and benefit from the wider market access that the AfCFTA promises to deliver while also contributing to the strengthening of regional value chains that are vital to Africa’s industrialization.
- The Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) signed by India and Mauritius is another major milestone in the annals of the India-Africa partnership, This is the first FTA that India has signed with an African country.
- It’s important to know that over the last 20 years, India’s trade with Africa grew about $1.5 billion in 2000 to a high of $71.4 billion in 2014-16
- African governments are emphatically urging Indian industries to invest in their manufacturing industries and leverage the benefits of doing business in the unified market of the AfCFTA.
- The pandemic has also set in motion Africa’s call to Indian industry for direct investments in the region’s public healthcare infrastructure and systems, drugs, and pharmaceuticals production capacities, and tertiary healthcare facilities, while also collaborating for creating capacity for vaccine production, strengthening the relationship between India and Africa.
India is also looking forward and helping Africa to built bridge the digital divide through the second phase of the pan-Africa e-network project—e-VidyaBharati and e-ArogyaBharati Network Project, five years of free tele-education to 4,000 students, free medical education to 1,000 doctors/nurses/paramedics, and free medical consultancy.
- India-Africa partnership will be working to brace the post-pandemic new normal.
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