The future of India’s Africa policy

The fourth India-Africa Forum Summit, scheduled to take place in New Delhi on Sunday, was postponed due to the Ebola epidemic in parts of Africa. However, the run-up to this important interaction produced enough literature from diverse sources to affirm the importance India attaches to significantly upgrading its ties with the 54-nation continent.
The summit organizers had titled the event “IA Spirit,” which stood for “India Africa Strategic Partnership for Innovation, Resilience and Inclusive Transformation.” Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said that the conclave would deliver “a message of stability in a turbulent world, of reliability in an uncertain one, and of solidarity in difficult times.”
The minister was obviously referring to the summit taking place against the backdrop of the Ukraine and Middle East conflicts, which have wreaked havoc not only on the regions concerned but also on the economies of Africa and India. Thus, both India and the African nations pledged to explore ways in which their partnership could address their concerns through joint effort and shape the contours of their alignment in diverse areas — economic development, technology and security.
India-Africa ties, building on their camaraderie and mutual support during the Cold War period, when both espoused nonalignment, have gained considerable substance over the last decade. There have been 50 high-level visits from India to African countries in this period and nearly 100 return visits. India has also expanded its diplomatic presence to 17 more countries, so that 44 African states now have resident Indian diplomatic missions.
Africa is India’s third-largest trade partner, with two-way trade now standing at nearly $100 billion a year. Africa also has a central place in India’s efforts to articulate the interests of the Global South, with India bringing the African Union into the G20 during its presidency.
However, one Indian commentator has described India-Africa ties so far as “episodic and heavily state-centric,” calling for more sustained and diverse engagements that would bring in actors from the private sector and civil society.
Agreeing with this assessment, an Indian diplomat has insisted that India-Africa relations be redefined on the basis of a “reimagined architecture” that is founded on a fresh strategy to shape economic ties, with regional interactions and collective dialogue at summit level to address the broader issues of continental and maritime security and stability, transnational extremism and violence, and logistical and technological connectivity projects. In short, what is required, as an observer has noted, is that India “reposition Africa at the center of its foreign policy framework.”
Trade, technology, knowledge and security should be the principal sectors for engagement in this endeavor. Regarding trade, India will need to harmonize its approach with Africa’s free trade area protocols and engage with African countries on issues of market access and regulatory harmonization. Indian companies could also set up manufacturing units in Africa and develop supply chains for the export market. 

Africa is India’s third-largest trade partner, with two-way trade now standing at nearly $100 billion a year.

Talmiz Ahmad

In the area of technology, India is already promoting the development of digital public infrastructure, such as digital identity platforms, online payment systems and data exchanges, in which it has considerable expertise. This can play a major role in upgrading service delivery across Africa, besides enhancing the technology skills of African youth.
Knowledge development is another promising area for bilateral cooperation. While in the past India had imparted knowledge to African youth through its decades-old technical and economic cooperation programs, now its approach will be to focus on two-way partnerships set up on an institutional basis so that these initiatives become part of Africa’s knowledge ecosystems. As a role model, India’s premier technology institution, the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, now has a branch in Zanzibar and is providing facilities for education and research in data science and artificial intelligence.
Security offers a new and important area for an Indian role in Africa. The continent has been conflict-prone for several decades and Indian forces have been part of UN peacekeeping operations throughout this period, as well as, more recently, in antipiracy operations. Conflicts in Africa have mainly emerged from fragile domestic order in several states, disputed borders, tribal and clan divisions, and weak governance institutions. In recent years, Africa has seen more than 50 conflicts that have led to 35 million people being displaced. To complicate matters, external interventions have surged from 12 in the period between 1991 and 2010 to 27 between 2011 and 2021.
Africa has several organizations concerned with security matters, including the African Union Peace and Security Architecture, which has supporting bodies dealing with conflict prevention, peace support operations, imposing sanctions and postconflict reconstruction. Most of these have remained largely ineffective due to the absence of political support.
Given the importance of Africa in its long-term strategic calculus, India cannot be a mute bystander amid these lethal conflicts. Its security role could evolve incrementally as it gains knowledge and confidence, starting with training, logistical support, technology for communications and early warning systems, joint exercises, and developing the defense industrial sector. This would prepare the ground for serious security interactions at different levels.
Participating in Africa’s development is a formidable challenge on account of the continent’s size, diversity and instability. But Africa is worth the wait. In a new book, “How Africa Works,” Joe Studwell confidently states: “In trade, investment, tourism, literature and music, African integration into the world system is beginning in the way it did for Asia half a century ago.”
India expects to be a central player in shaping this change.

• Talmiz Ahmad is a former Indian diplomat.