Jaishankar at 15th CII-EXIM Bank Digital Conclave on India-Africa Project Partnership
New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday asserted that India continued to bring to Africa the best of its developmental experiences at home and that its partnership sought to empower rather than extract from local communities.
Delivering the inaugural address at the commencement of the 15th CII-EXIM Bank Digital Conclave on India-Africa Project Partnership virtually here on Tuesday, Dr Jaishankar said that India had executed 194 developmental projects in 37 African countries and was currently working to complete 77 additional projects in 29 countries, with a total outlay of $11.6 billion.
The projects ranged from infrastructure to ICT, from power generation and distribution to water and irrigation, from railways to roads, agriculture to sugar plants.
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Dr Jaishankar acknowledged that defence and security cooperation was a key 21st century pillar for India and Africa.
“India had helped set up Staff and Command colleges in several African countries and had trained thousands of officers and soldiers in Indian military institutions,” the minister said.
India’s record in peacekeeping operations in Africa had been appreciated and now maritime security, including in HADR missions, was a new frontier, he said.
Further, the minister touched upon India’s digital journey which had been a force multiplier in the delivery of education, health care and welfare benefits to Indians and how this could be of use to Africa as well: through e-Vidya Bharati and e-Arogya Bharati, premier Indian educational institutions and hospitals had been linked with 16 African countries to offer tele-education and tele-medicine services.
He also detailed how Indian investment had created jobs and opportunities in African countries in energy, mining, banking, textiles and other sectors, mentioning in particular India’s energy investment of about US$ 7 billion in a gas field in Mozambique as well as energy investments in South Sudan, north and west Africa.
He mentioned India’s welcome to several thousand African students studying for their degrees as well as in short-term courses in a myriad subjects; the Indian-origin communities found across Africa also found mention for their contribution to the African continent’s human capital and the hospitality that Africa had offered them.
