India-Africa meet today
India is leveraging its shared history of colonial struggles and centuries-old commercial ties with Africa to gain diplomatic edge as New Delhi kicks off its biggest diplomatic pivot to the continent.
This is the first time India has gathered all the 54 African countries together, with around 40 heads of State and governments expected to attend while the rest, including President Peter Mutharika, will be represented by senior Cabinet level officials at the third India Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) in New Delhi, which officially starts today to October 29.
However, looming large in the background is the silent but larger than life shadow of China, which has in recent years aggressively expanded its influence in Africa.
But both in a written interview with leading African journalists and during his media briefing at 7 Race Course Road — the Prime Minister’s (PM) official residence here — PM Narendra Modi either avoided or ignored mentioning China.
Instead, he concentrated on what binds India and Africa — from the shared pain of colonialism to the current similarities in demographics and economic surge.
“This is a relationship [India and Africa] that is beyond strategic considerations. It is a relationship with a strong emotional link.
“It has been forged by our intersecting history; our centuries-old ties of kinship, commerce and culture; our common struggle against colonialism; our quest for equality, dignity and justice among all people; and our shared aspirations for our progress and a voice in the world. We are blessed with vast reservoir of mutual goodwill and confidence,” said Modi in a written response to a question on whether India was playing catch-up with China.
Indeed, India has a strong human presence in Africa, with at least 2.7 million Indians livingon the continent.
In Malawi, especially in Blantyre’s Limbe trading zone and Bwalo la Njobvu in the capital city Lilongwe, Indians control the bulk of commerce there.
On trade, India has granted 34 African countries duty-free access to the Indian market of 1.25 billion people.
But for Malawi, the balance of trade heavily favours India not just because the world’s largest democracy is a giant economy with a strong industrial base and linkages but also because Malawi has not taken advantage of the market opportunities that country has offered, including for legume exports, which are in high demand there.
Based on the so-called South-South Cooperation, India has since 2008 extended LoC and grants to Malawi totalling $165.5 million (K91 billion) invested in the sectors of agriculture, technical education, energy, rural industrialisation and disaster response such as the earthquakes that hit some parts of northern Malawi.
But India’s $7.5 billion concessional loans package pails to China’s economic presence in Africa.
From 2009 to 2012 alone, China provided $10 billion in financing to Africa in the form of “concessional loans”.
Last week, Mutharika announced project financing support from China of about $1.3 billion for various infrastructure developments nationwide.
