India and Africa – Relations in the Past and Present

By Ambassador A.R. Ghanshyam

Relations between India and Africa go back to ancient times of the Indus Valley civilization (3300 to 1300 BC), when.Egyptians (3150 BCE to 30 BCE) and the kingdom of Aksum (100 CE to 940 CE) had trade relations with ancient India.

In recent times, India was one of the earliest colonies to be freed from the British Empire. After independence, Indian leaders spearheaded the long struggle for decolonisation of Africa at the United Nations, which many elder Africans recollect with nostalgia. British authorities took many skilled Indians to their African colonies because of the advantage of language as well as skills. In several English speaking African countries, the contribution of Indian doctors and teachers is widely recognised.

After presenting my credentials on 5 March, 2014 as Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, I sat down for an informal chat with then President of Nigeria Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. I distinctly recall his words, “You know Ambassador, an entire generation of Nigerians were taught by Indian teachers, treated by Indian doctors and grew up wearing Indian apparel and watching Indian movies. Wherever you go in my country you will find that your country has enormous goodwill.”

That sentiment was very much evident when I travelled across the country during my tenure as High Commissioner. At that time Nigeria accounted for a quarter of the GDP of Africa and close to a fifth of the continent’s population. Then as well as now, Nigeria is the largest trading partner of India in Africa with bilateral trade close to USD20 billion till the Ukraine war. However, thanks to concessional oil supplies from Russia, African suppliers may have lost out in the short run. There would be many African countries with whom we would have similar close relations.

A very sought-after Indian initiative in Africa is the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Program which began in September 1964. Mid-career training is provided to civil servants, new entrepreneurs and experts through short term courses that range from a few weeks to several months. The Ministry of External Affairs states on its website, www.itecgoi.in that more than 225,000 participants from 160 countries have been trained under this program since its inception, a significant number from Africa. ITEC is very popular in Africa because the training imparted has been found extremely useful and is greatly appreciated by one and all in Africa.

The head of an Angolan Banking Training Institute came to my office in Luanda, in the summer of 2008 when I was Ambassador to Angola. He mentioned that the Indian ITEC course on Environmental Auditing is essential for Angola and he barely gets one or two seats a year for his officers which is grossly insufficient. He enquired if he could send about 50 officers to India to attend this course. He had many who spoke good Portuguese but limited English and that was a constraint.

I thought for a while and suggested that if the Government of Angola can provide an appropriate classroom, local accommodation and transport for our Professors and also local interpreters for English to Portuguese translation, I would discuss the proposal with authorities in India to bring the faculty from India to Angola for the month-long course. He was pleased no end and immediately agreed. It was not difficult to persuade the Government of India (GoI) on the proposal thanks to the huge savings it generated and the tremendous goodwill it earned for us.

About 50 people, many of whom had limited knowledge of English, were thus trained by Indian professors for five weeks. Such innovations can be undertaken by our envoys in other countries too, which would save us huge costs, train a much larger number of trainees and trainers and also earn enormous goodwill.

In his inaugural address dated 14 June, 2023 to the 18th CII-EXIM BANK Africa Conclave in New Delhi, External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr. S. Jaishankar informed the audience that:

1. India has extended concessional loans of over $12.37 billion under which 197 projects had been completed (now 206 projects in 43 countries), 65 were under execution and 81 at the pre-execution stage. Among the projects are drinking water schemes, irrigation, rural solar electrification, power plants and transmission lines to cement, sugar and textile factories, technology parks and railway infrastructure.
2.  During COVID-19, India provided medical support to 32 African countries and ‘Made in India’ COVID vaccines to 42 African countries. We now encourage Indian Pharma manufacturers and vaccine producers to explore joint manufacturing facilities in African countries.
3. India provided 42,000 scholarships since the India Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) –III in 2015 in New Delhi. It is a matter of pride for India that several high ranking leaders, ministers and officials from Africa have studied in Indian universities. Apart from these, a large number of students and officials from Africa have also trained under the ITEC program.
4. Under the second phases of e-VidyaBharti and e-ArogyaBharti networks launched in 2019 for tele-education and tele-medicine, over 14,000 youth from 22 African countries have enrolled for various degrees and diploma courses. India has partnered with African countries in promoting digital transformation through the setting-up of Information Technology Centres, Science and Technology Parks and Entrepreneur Development Centres, and others
5. Our development partnership focuses strongly on Digital, on Green, on Health, on Food and on Water.
6. On the trade and economic front, India’s bilateral trade with Africa reached $98 billion in 2022-2023.
7. For many years now, 33 of the 54 African countries termed ‘Least Developed Countries’ by the United Nations have been accorded duty free export to India of their exports to India covering over 98 percent of the tariff lines of India.

In his address on the occasion of Africa Day on 25 June, 2024 EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar noted that besides training military officers from several countries in our military training institutions, India has also contributed to the setting up of Defence Academies and Colleges in Nigeria, Ethiopia and Tanzania. Training teams in several African countries like Botswana, Namibia, Uganda, Lesotho, Zambia, Mauritius, Seychelles and Tanzania among others have been working. India is the third largest contributor to the UN Peace-Keeping Operations with nearly 5,000 Indian personnel currently serving in five Peacekeeping Missions in Africa.

A sunrise sector for India-Africa cooperation is the domain of military supplies keeping in view rising security challenges in the continent. India has supported by providing reliable and affordable military hardware The top three African countries to import Made-in-India arms between 2017 and 2022 were Seychelles, Mauritius, and Mozambique. More are joining the list now. India has exported indigenous self-defence equipment such as armoured vehicles and interceptor boats to Mozambique, which has helped boost its defence preparedness and military capabilities. Besides conventional arms, India has also supplied patrol craft and light helicopters to several African countries. Although India’s current arms supply to Africa accounts for about 15 percent of its total defence exports, there is potential for further growth.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the Ugandan Parliament on 25 July, 2018 outlined ten guiding principles deepening India’s engagement with Africa:

1. Africa will be at the top of India’s priorities.
2.  India’s development partnership will be guided by Africa’s priorities to build local capacity of indigenous talent and skill.
3. India will keep its markets open and make it easier and more attractive for Africa to trade with India. India will support the Indian industry in investing in Africa.
4. India will harness her experience of digital revolution to support Africa’s development; improve delivery of public services; extend education and health; spread digital literacy; expand financial inclusion; and mainstream the marginalized and equip the youth of Africa for their place in the digital age.
5.  Africa has 60 percent of the world’s arable land, but produces just 10 percent of the global output. India will work with Africa to improve Africa’s agriculture.
6. India and Africa will work as partners to address the challenges of climate change to ensure a just international climate order; to preserve our biodiversity; and adopt clean and efficient energy sources.
7. India will strengthen cooperation with Africa in combating terrorism and extremism; keeping our cyberspace safe and secure; and supporting the UN in advancing and keeping peace.
8. India will work with African nations to keep the oceans open and free for the benefit of all nations.
9. As global engagement in Africa increases, India and Africa must work together to ensure that Africa does not once again turn into a theatre of rival ambitions, but becomes a nursery for the aspirations of Africa’s youth.
10. Just as India and Africa fought colonial rule together, we will work together for a just, representative and democratic global order that has a voice and a role for one-third of humanity that lives in Africa and India. India’s own quest for reforms in the global institutions is incomplete without an equal place for Africa. That will be a key purpose of our foreign policy.

There are four core areas in which India has comparative advantages over its rivals in Africa viz., Health, Education, Agriculture and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Many leaders of the continent are highly keen that India hand-holds the continent in these areas. In the health sector Africa carries 20 percent of the disease burden of the world with only 5.5 percent of the global medical workforce (3.6 million health workers of the world’s 65.1 million).

In Education, a recent report prepared by UNICEF for African Union notes that although enrolment of children in schools has stunningly improved in the last couple of decades, in 2019, 17 percent of children who should have been in primary schools were not in school. The percentage for Lower Secondary and Upper Secondary schools is 33 percent and 53 percent respectively. This is an important area in which Africa and India can work together.

With 23 percent of the world’s agricultural land and 60 percent of the world’s uncultivated arable land, Africa can be the bread basket of the world. India is sought after by Africa in this domain. More than half the 1.5 billion population of Africa is less than 19 years of age. While modern technology and large scale manufacturing can create employment, it is the MSME sector which holds the real strength for creating employment for the billion-strong workforce which is emerging in Africa in the coming years. India has the experience and knowledge in this domain which will be extremely useful to Africa.