'Let’s redefine the parameters of India-Africa relations, create new areas of cooperation': Piyush Goyal

"Let's redefine the parameters of India-Africa relations, create new areas of cooperation": Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles

India and Africa should work together to build more robust, diverse, and resilient supply chains, redefine the parameters of engagement and explore newer sectors for cooperation, stated Mr. Piyush Goyal, Hon'ble Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Government of India, at the session with African trade ministers on the second day of the 18th CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India Africa Growth Partnership, organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and EXIM Bank of India in New Delhi.

India is committed to deepening trade and investments with Africa and increasing knowledge and technology transfer with the region, the Minister stated. "Let's re-energize our relationship," he added, noting that this would bring about a more prosperous Africa and a more prosperous India.

Referring to the India-Africa trade volume that stood at nearly US$100 billion in 2022-23, Mr. Goyal said that the two sides can go beyond doubling the trade volume to US$ 200 billion by 2030, considering that both regions together have 3 billion population with very favourable demographics. The Minister called for a deep study of bilateral trade relations, country by country, that can identify further opportunities for growth.

Highlighting the opportunity for India and Africa to engage in deeper cooperation in the areas of renewable energy, sustainability, and alignment with the vision of 'One World, One Grid', Mr. Goyal stated that the two sides could come together to establish inter-connected grids served by clean energy. India could also extend its expertise to Africa in the development of digital public infrastructure, he added.

H.E. Dr. Tambo Gina, Minister of Economic Planning & Development, Kingdom of Eswatini, stated that the country offers significant investment opportunities in sectors like telecom and power generation and that there are no restrictions on foreign investments.

H.E. Mr. Hugues Judicael Mbadinga Madiya, Minister of Investment Promotion & PPPs, Gabonese Republic observed that the renewable energy sector opens up newer avenues for investments and stated that Indian companies are actively engaged in the country across sectors including infrastructure development, mining, agriculture and education.

H.E. Mr. Simplex Chithyola Banda, Minister for Trade and Industry, Republic of Malawi stated that Malawi has initiated key steps to unlock the potential of the SME sector and called for India-Africa conclaves to be organised in Africa that will help promote the participation of SME businesses.

H.E. Mr. Baboucarr Ousmaila Joof, Minister of Trade, lndustry, Regional Integration and Employment, Republic of The Gambia said that the Trans-Gambia Corridor project is creating new investment opportunities for Indian companies.

To boost the India-Africa bilateral flows, Mr R Dinesh, President, CII called for diversification of the trade basket, enhancing African exports to India, ensuring more effective utilisation of concessional lines of credit offered by India to African countries, and streamlining of visa services, among others.

The implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, complemented with the strong transportation and logistics networks, will help boost bilateral trade flows between the two sides, stated Mr Noel Tata, Chairman, CII Africa Committee and Chairman, Tata International Ltd.

Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) mentioned that digitalisation, infrastructure development and agriculture are among a broad spectrum of areas where India-Africa partnerships are growing.

A CII publication titled 'India Africa Trade: Scaling the $200 billion peak' was released at the session.

New Delhi

15 June 2023

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