Common Futures

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<strong>Common</strong> <strong>Futures</strong>: India and Africa in Partnership India-Africa Relations: Nurturing an Enduring Partnership H.H.S.Viswanathan H.H.S. Viswanathan is a Distinguished Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation. He was a member of the Indian Foreign Service for 34 years and head of mission to Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria. He also represented India in the AfDB, IFAD and FAO. 8 Historical ties India’s relation with the African continent goes back to many centuries. Even before the age of colonisation, there was flourishing trade between East Africa and the West Coast of India across the Arabian Sea. There is a view that Indian sailors helped the Portuguese explorer Vasco de Gama navigate the treacherous waters of the Arabian Sea. Colonisation of India and Africa led to a decline and eventually the end of the flourishing trade. However, during the colonial period an Indian Diaspora came to being in Africa working as indentured labour in the plantations and railroad construction in Southern and East Africa. After many generations, this Diaspora still continues to prosper in Africa and acts as a bridge of friendship. India’s independence movement with the unique method of non-violent noncooperation of Mahatma Gandhi inspired many African leaders who were themselves fighting for liberation. After India’s independence, both Gandhi and Nehru remarked that this struggle for freedom would not be complete
survey without the independence of Africa. That is why India was at the forefront of the decolonisation efforts for the African nations. India also led from the front in the fight against apartheid in South Africa. The independence of most African countries in 1960’s led to a new phase in India-Africa relations. A new bond of solidarity and common purpose evolved with the Bandung Afro-Asian Conference and later with the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and G-77 platforms. Despite the fact that India was itself short of capital, innovative ways of cooperation were explored. India managed to contribute, in modest ways, to the socio-economic development of newly independent African countries by way of capacity building and human resource development. These were in areas where India had some inherent strength like Agriculture and Small and Medium industries. End of the Cold War The 1990s saw a new phase in India-Africa relations. The end of the Cold War and the dawn of globalisation brought a new paradigm. Strangely though, the momentum of India-Africa engagement slowed in the nineties. The reasons were obvious. On the Indian side, the economy was opening up and the country was in the midst of serious economic reforms. On the African side, most of the countries were emerging from the neo-colonial grip of former colonial masters who controlled the vital levers of the economies of these countries. The end of the Cold War led to an easing of the grip by the excolonial powers. This was also because of the preoccupation of Europe with expansion and problems in their neighbourhood. This change of circumstances proved very beneficial for Africa where the countries had, for the first time, a real chance to manage their own affairs. The present phase of increased India-Africa engagement started with the new millennium. By this time, thanks to a decade of economic reforms, the Indian economy started to grow at healthy rates and was considered a successful emerging economy. The opening up also necessitated greater interaction with the outside world and Africa, with complementary aspects proving to be a natural choice for greater engagement. On the African side, the change was marked by a remarkable resurgence both in political and economic spheres. Politically, more and more countries became democratic and adopted multiparty polity along with other aspects of democracy like free press, independent judiciary etc. The number of coup d’états and violent conflicts began to decline. Governments became more transparent and accountable. Regular elections, which are becoming better organised, have been a regular feature in the last 15 years in most countries. This political resurgence has been reinforced by the economic turnaround. The average growth of Sub-Saharan Africa in the first decade of the new millennium was more than 5%. 1 Some countries registered spectacular growth rates in two digits. After the Global Financial Crisis in 2008, Africa was the only continent other than Asia that continued to grow. It is true that much of 1 International Monetary Fund, “Regional Economic Outlook—Sub-Saharan Africa: Resilience and Risks,” October 2010, https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/reo/2010/AFR/eng/pdf/sreo1010.pdf 9
Page 1 and 2: Common Futures India and Africa in
Page 3 and 4: Director’s Note sunjoy joshi Indi
Page 5 and 6: Contents Africa and India: Shared P
Page 7 and 8: introduction same population -- jus
Page 9 and 10: introduction Despite the increasing
Page 11: introduction the new concerns aroun
Page 15 and 16: survey can work with African nation
Page 17 and 18: survey The flagship mechanism for c
Page 19: survey be initiated. For example, t
Page 22 and 23: Common Futures: India and Africa in
Page 33 and 34: EMPOWERMENT
Page 35 and 36: Empowerment India’s e-commerce se
Page 37 and 38: Empowerment despite having greater
Page 39 and 40: Empowerment Despite the increasing
Page 41: Empowerment and sustainable in the
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Common Futures: India and Africa in
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EMPLOYMENT
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Employment A deeper investigation i
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Employment growing optimism is acco
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Employment While several segmented
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Employment Kenya is a case in point
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Conclusion non-alignment, an aversi
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Conclusion The crisis in the Middle
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About ORF Observer Research Foundat
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