On 24 September, an Indian medical team arrived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to modernize India’s peacekeeping hospital. Simultaneously, the 15th Digital Conclave of the Confederation of Indian-EXIM Industry on the India-Africa Association was held. , S Jaishankar, under pressure that Africa is “India’s priority” and that “for India, the emergence of Africa as one of the poles of the global formula is not only desirable, is certainly obligatory. Array. A broader global rebalancing is incomplete without a genuine emergence from Africa. This is what motivates and informs India’s consciousness in Africa.
Indeed, India has never been more committed to Africa than it is today. According to official data, India has totaled 194 progress projects in 37 African countries at a cost of $11. 6 billion and is currently adding up 77 more in 29 countries. adding infrastructure, ICT, electricity generation, agriculture, irrigation and even oil and gas. India has also invested about $7 billion in Mozambique, South Sudan and other parts of North and West Africa.
Relations between India and Africa have grown in recent years, to the point where India has become Africa’s third-largest export destination. With an investment of $54 billion, India becomes one of the continent’s largest investors.
COVID-19 in particular proved to have driven greater Indian success on the continent.
India has provided assistance and education to African countries in their fight against the virus. So far he has sent medical groups to Mauritius, Comoros, as well as to other countries such as the Maldives. The Medical Groups of the Indian Navy were stationed in Mauritius and Comoros. where they visited local hospitals, trained and assisted in COVID-19 control techniques.
This also reflects the seasoning of the defense ties between India and Africa. India has also been active in peacekeeping in Africa, creating defense academies, deploying educational teams. On 6 February, the first Conclave of Ministers of Defense of India and Africa was held in Lucknow, in conjunction with the Indian Defence Fair. More than 154 African delegates participated in the conclave, which also included defense ministers from 14 African countries.
However, the scenario remains crowded as other powers also expand widely into Africa, which has a coveted fate of EDF, loans, and even defense bases, not only for classical powers like France and the United States, but also for others like China. Turkey.
Indeed, the challenge for India in Africa comes from China, with its much larger economy. Africa is the key to the China Strip and Route Initiative with the accession of 20 African countries.
The African Attractiveness Report found that from 2014 to 2018, China was the largest investor in Africa in terms of total capital, with around $72235 million, while India was only $5403 million.
China is also reputed to deliver projects quickly, which India lacks. With the sector at the forefront, corporations have also been scrutinized for tax evasion and non-compliance with local rules.
India, however, has a merit in its technique and its emotional bond with Africa. This includes only the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi, but also the Indian diaspora in countries such as South Africa, Uganda and Tanzania. Moreover, India’s progress partnership is also much less exploitative than China, and at the same time more sensitive to African needs.
For example, while countries such as Nigeria and Kenya have quickly embraced Chinese infrastructure and investment projects, many have been subjected to scrutiny or renegotiation of conditions. In 2019, a Kenyan court suspended the structure of a $2 billion power plant funded through China for lack of transparency.
There have also been reports of abuse of African paintings in Chinese projects.
According to the knowledge of the UN industry for 2017, total imports from 39 African countries from China exceeded $71 billion, while India’s imports amounted to $21 billion, making Africa much more dependent on China. Most importantly, Africa’s debt to China is higher exponentially than beyond the decade, nearly $30 billion in 2016.
As COVID-19 hits Africa hard, the International Monetary Fund estimates that sub-Saharan African economies will contract by nearly 3. 2% this year. While China has announced debt relief, countries are looking for Chinese investments and loans.
In 2018, Ethiopia renegotiated its Chinese debt. Kenya, hit by a pandemic, will now renegotiate its borrowed Chinese loan to build a railway, and in Nigeria and Zambia, projects are suspended due to COVID-19.
Countries have doubts about the Chinese loans requested.
Not surprisingly, some Africans rejoiced when India’s government announced special measures this year to save it Chinese investment in India that would benefit from the negative effects of the pandemic.
COVID-19 will reshape Africa’s ties with China, offering India a new opportunity to build on the existing basis of its partnership with Africa. Where it will be difficult for India to pass alone, it will have to participate in associations, such as the activation of the India-Japan-Africa corridor, or alliances with other countries such as France or the United States.
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