Common Futures

Common Futures: India and Africa in Partnership
India’s demand for energy
India is one of the leading consumers of energy among developing economies;
it imports more than 70 percent of its oil demand, which is estimated to go
up to 90 percent. 4 The demand for natural gas is also increasing – at the rate
of 10 percent since 2001 – with the power and fertilizer sector being the
major consumers. In 2010 the statistics for the two sectors were 45 percent
and 28 percent respectively. 5 India’s demand for energy is basically driven
by two main concerns, namely: sustaining its growing industrial sector and
combating energy poverty.
India’s growing energy requirements also raises a critical concern related to
energy security; the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, in its Strategic
Plan 2011-2017, has explicitly highlighted its prime objective of addressing
India’s energy security needs in the hydrocarbons sector and ensuring the
availability of petroleum products at reasonable prices. 6
African-Indian partnership in the energy sector
India’s increasing energy demand, on the one hand, and Africa’s vast energy
resources available at reasonable prices, on the other, means that the African
region could prove to be a potential market for India’s energy needs. Rather
than just an economic tie, the supply and demand relation between the two
regions can be seen as a partnership conducive to cooperation in other areas
in the social and political sphere, promoting sustainable development.
The energy partnership between Africa and India must be conceptualised
to ensure a mutually advantageous arrangement. Issues such as energy
sustainability, reduction of energy poverty, and adaptation of energy systems must
be taken into consideration in establishing the partnership, especially in the
context of sustainable development in both Africa and India.
India’s increasing
energy demand, on
the one hand, and
Africa’s vast energy
resources available
at reasonable prices,
on the other, means
that the African
region could prove to
be a potential market
for India’s energy
needs.
Energy sustainability must be prioritised in this partnership since it involves
developing countries. The general assumption is that developing countries
often place greater weight on economic growth as opposed to the threat of
climate change, which has consequences that may emerge later depriving
future generations from enjoying a healthy natural environment. 7 India’s needs
for energy should be fulfilled, however, minimizing the negative impacts of
energy consumption must be ensured at the same time. For instance, India
could balance the use of oil with natural gas – a resource that is abundantly
available in Africa.
4 Girijesh Pant, Emerging Global Energy Order: India’s Energy Security and Foreing Policy (New Delhi:
ICWAS-SIS, 2014), 72.
5 A.K Chauturvedi, Role of Pakistan in India’s Energy Security (New Delhi: Centre for Joint Warfare
Studies, 2013), 29.
6 Girijesh Pant, Emerging Global Energy Order: India’s Energy Security and Foreign Policy (New Delhi:
ICWAS-SIS, 2014), 73.
7 William C. Ramsay, “Energy Sector Governance in the 21 st Century” in Energy and Security – Strategies
for A World in Transition, ed. Jan Kalicki and David Goldwyn (Washington Dc: Woodrow Wilson
Centre Press, 2013), 140-155.
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