Ten years ago, New Delhi hosted the last India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS-III). The 2015 summit was a moment of significance. Marking a leap in India’s diplomatic imagination under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India had welcomed representatives from all 54 African states.
Since then India has added 17 new missions across Africa. Trade has surpassed $100 billion. Investment flows are gathering pace. India’s support for Africa’s global voice has grown. It was key in ensuring full membership for the African Union in the G-20. It is now time to take stock, not only of promises made but also of the foundations laid.
The opportunities and challenges
By 2050, one in four people on earth will be in Africa. India will be the world’s third largest economy. Between these two lies a potential growth corridor of commerce, demography, technology and aspiration.
India is among Africa’s top five investors, with cumulative investments of $75 billion. However, the underlying model has shifted. From ports to power lines, vaccine production to digital tools, the message for engagement is clear. Build together.
The evolution of ties is visible. In April 2025, India and nine African navies (Comoros, Djibouti, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, the Seychelles, South Africa and Tanzania) exercised together in the first Africa-India Key Maritime Engagement (AIKEYME), initiating a security partnership rooted in shared oceanic geography.
India’s Exim Bank recently extended a $40 million commercial credit line to the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) — modest in scale, but a signal of interest in African-led development. Education remains a trusted pillar.
The new campus of IIT Madras, in Zanzibar, is the most visible example. Behind it stands decades of knowledge partnerships, including the Pan-African e-Network and India’s Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme, which continue to train thousands across the continent.
These are not isolated efforts but part of a growing web. Beyond that, India continues to push for African representation in global institutions and contributes to United Nations peacekeeping missions on the continent.
Editorial | This time for Africa: On India, Africa and the Global South
India’s trade with Africa is growing, but it still lags behind China. Indian firms arrive full of promise but are often slowed by small balance sheets and bureaucratic drag. The temptation to scale back is real, but erroneous.
Instead, India must move up the value chain. That means co-investing in future-facing sectors — green hydrogen, electric mobility and digital infrastructure. Africa today is asserting its terms. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is laying the groundwork for a single continental market. India’s UPI and digital stack can complement this transformation. Alas, tools alone are not strategy. Delivery is. In cities such as Kigali (Rwanda), Nairobi (Kenya) and Lagos (Nigeria), African innovation ecosystems are growing. But the competition is global.
The human link
India’s most enduring export to Africa is not technology. It is talent. Nearly 40,000 Africans have studied in India in the last decade, through the ITEC, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and the e-Network platforms. Many have returned to shape policy, run ministries or lead innovation back home. They are living bridges that carry trust across borders.
The movement is not one way. African students, athletes and entrepreneurs are carving their space in India. Nigerian footballers such as Ranti Martins have become household names. The Indian cricket team’s fast bowling coach is South Africa’s Morne Morkel. African voices are present in India’s universities and laboratories. The partnership is not just strategic. It is lived.
Looking to the future
If India wants to sustain this momentum, three moves matter.
First, connect finance to real outcomes. Every line of credit must lead to something visible and valuable. Public finance must de-risk, not displace, private capital.
Second, build an India-Africa digital corridor. This should rest not only on UPI and India Stack but also on Africa’s digital strengths. Together, we can co-develop platforms for health, education and payments that serve the Global South.
Third, revive the institutional backbone. The IAFS has not met since 2015. That Summit, at Mr. Modi’s insistence, brought all of Africa together. As its chief coordinator, this writer saw first-hand the diplomatic energy it released. It is time to bring that spirit back as a date on India’s diplomatic calendar.
There was a time when merchants crossed the Indian Ocean in search of spice and gold. Today, India and Africa are not just exchanging goods. They are beginning to exchange confidence, capacity, ideas, and connecting futures.
A decade after India welcomed all of Africa to Delhi, the next chapter needs to be written. India once extended a hand to the whole of Africa. Now it is time to join hands and build together.
Syed Akbaruddin is a former Indian Permanent Representative to the United Nations and, currently, Dean, Kautilya School of Public Policy, Hyderabad