India-Africa partnerships strengthen despite global slowdown

Traditional partners India and Africa are making a joint bid to turn the current global economic uncertainty into an opportunity for establishing long-term business partnerships. Nearly 410 delegates representing government bodies and businesses from African states will converge at the 5th CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India-Africa Project Partnership in New Delhi during March 22-24 to discuss and identify the opportunities for project partnerships that address both local as well as niche global markets.

The three-day interactive event will see projects worth over $12 billion being discussed and numerous agreements arrived at. Projects worth over $10 billion were discussed at the 4th Conclave held in New Delhi in March 2008. The range of project discussions is expected to be much broader this year.

Minister of External Affairs, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, will release a CII publication on 'Connecting India-Africa: The Way Forward' at a Special Plenary to be held on Monday, March 23. This will be in keeping with the overall theme of 'Celebrating Partnerships'.

India's trade and business relationship with Africa has been growing since the early 1960s, and has seen rapid development in recent years. Trade between the two regions increased from just USD 7 billion , a ten fold increase in just 10 years between 1997 and 2007.

The presence of a strong Indian diaspora in several African countries further improves the ties between Indian and African business and trade networks.

A bulk of India's FDI is in manufacturing, non-financial services such as IT and ITES, and others that mostly represent investment in mineral and energy resources. Sudan and Mauritius are among the top five FDI destinations for India, both accounting for about 18 per cent of India's total FDI flow.

However, infrastructure in the region still remains a critical area for investment. The proposed summit the 5th CII-EXIM BANK Conclave on India Africa Project Partnership - will bring to the fore how Indian firms, on the back of their expertise in town-planning and large-scale urban development, can play a big role in connecting Africa through roads, rails, airlines, and ports.

The Conclave underlines the spirit of partnership that envelopes India-Africa economic engagements. It is also a reaffirmation of the fundamental strengths of the Indian and African economies in the current global context. The partnership typifies South-South Cooperation and has a key role in the revival of the global economy.

The Conclave, the largest India-Africa engagement since the convening of the First India-Africa Forum Summit in New Delhi in April 2008, will be addressed by a galaxy of political leaders, business heads and financial experts from both regions. The deliberations will be sector-focused and conducted in seventeen different sessions.

The focus areas of discussion are project financing, mining and minerals, agriculture and agro-processing, energy, consultancy, transport connectivity, SME promotion, pharmaceuticals and healthcare and human capital formation.

Leading speakers include Dr. The Hon. Ramakrishna Sithanen, Vice-Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Economic Empowerment, Mauritius; Mr James J. Thangaraj, African Diaspora Program Africa Region, The World Bank; Mr Kuol Athian Mawien, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning of the Government of Southern Sudan; Mr Abdoulaye Abdoulkader Cisse, Minister of Mining & Energy, Burkina Faso; Mr. Emmanuel Monnet, Minister of Mines and Energy, Cote d'Ivoire; Mr Neo Daniel Moroka, Minister of Trade and Industry, Botswana; Mr Koffi Esaw, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Togo, Mr. Mwami Mopipi Mukulumanya, Minister of Health, D R Congo; Hon Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu, Minister of State for Industry and Technology, Uganda; Mr Jonathan Wutaunashe, Ambassador, Dean of the African Group of Heads of Mission, Mr G K Pillai, Secretary Commerce, Government of India, Mr. Nalin Surie, Secretary West, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, Mr Syamal Gupta, Chairman CII Africa Committee & Chairman Tata International, Mr S R Rao, Executive Director Exim Bank of India, Dr S Roy, Chief Economist, Tata Group, Mr Sanjay Kirloskar, Member CII International Council & CMD Kirloskar Brothers Ltd, Mr Tarun Das, Chief Mentor, Confederation of Indian Industry, and Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, Confederation of Indian Industry.