India & Africa

Hosting the second Africa-India Forum summit in Addis Ababa, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said, “We will offer $5 billion for the next three years under lines of credit to help Africa achieve its development goals.” To put the figure in perspective, India’s healthcare budget is around $ 5.9 billion. This credit would be apart from $700 million pledged for new institutions in Africa. And for all those who said only China builds infrastructure for Africa, India announced a railway line between Ethiopia and Djibouti at a cost of $300 million. The initial plan by the African Union was for a line running across the breadth of Africa, but the task of coordinating land acquisition through so many sovereign states was a challenge they weren’t willing to take just yet. China has the biggest presence in Africa, churning out airport terminals and football stadiums at a breathtaking pace, in return for access to resources and minerals. Its bilateral trade with Africa in 2010 was $126.9 billion, as compared to just over $40 billion India-Africa trade. Earlier this week, India declared a target of $70 billion by 2015. India has had a long-standing relationship with African countries, particularly on the eastern seaboard, but it took a backseat when China strode into Africa . Since then, India has been playing catch-up. At the India-Africa summit in 2008, India signalled its seriousness about Africa. But this week, India announced that it will be playing in the big league here. India’s interests in Africa are not very different from China’s – with the added lure of 53 votes pushing for a reform of the UN Security Council. But India prides itself on doing things differently from China. It sees itself as less extractive in its engagements and more inclined towards helping African countries improve their capacity. As a senior African diplomat observed, “China invests in our today, India in our tomorrow.” African nations are not unhappy at being the centre of attention and largesse by India and China. Although China is more efficient in the way it processes aid in Africa, India has been actively invited by African leaders.