India Boosts Africa Engagement Amid Rising Rivalry Between China & the West

Delhi has extended 222 lines of credit worth over $14 billion to Africa over the last five years. According to External Affairs Minister V. Muraleedharan, these credits cover 357 projects to 42 countries, including roads, railways, power, ports and shipping, telecoms, health, education, and aviation.

A closer look at the data presented in the Indian parliament on Friday indicates a swift improvement in line-of-credit or grant-aid project delivery mechanisms under the Narendra Modi government compared to previous years.

Sputnik spoke with Indian Ambassador Anil Trigunayat, a distinguished fellow at Vivekananda International Foundation, regarding the country’s rising share in African projects.

"One of the biggest problems in our delivery mechanism was the delays. That was the major complaint by African countries. This is something that has been improved a great deal under the present government. There is accountability now. And this is acknowledged by the region's leaders last week when they came to New Delhi for a summit," Trigunayat said.

The ministry's statement indicates a 70-80% utilization rate, whether in scholarships or for the line of credit.

Trigunayat, who earlier served as India’s ambassador to Nigeria, recalled that no Indian prime minister visited Nigeria after the Pundit Nehru government until about 2007, despite the country's significance as an emerging power.

"Our leaders have visited more than 36 countries of the continent in last three-four years, which were reciprocated in equal measures," he explained.

Last week, addressing the ‘CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India-Africa Growth Partnership’ in Delhi, India listed cooperation in solar power, defense trade and military exchanges in the Indian Ocean, digital infrastructure, and healthcare as its top priorities in Africa.

"We hope that the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA), which was commenced in 2021, would be helpful to Indian companies to enhance and intensify the business footprint in Africa," S. Jaishankar, India's minister of external affairs, said.

India’s traditional defense relationship with Africa is limited to counter-terrorism, anti-piracy, and port calls. However, last week, Delhi also expressed interest in manufacturing armored vehicles and UAVs.

"Many African countries today are looking for an FDI-based investment. While government-to-government aid and assistance will continue and should continue, the more important thing is that we must have a private sector participant in Africa so that the PPP model could work much better," Trigunayat reckoned.

For more than a century, foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa was exclusively focused on extracting and exporting natural resources. However, the trend is now reversed with an improvement in governance and stability in the region resulting in competition among world powers to keep influence in the resource-rich continent.

"China has been in the infrastructure business for a long time, the EU has just launched the Global Gateway Program, and the US is talking about 'Build Back Better World.' But [these] are being sold as a way of countering China, not necessarily to build infrastructure. Therefore, both of these initiatives are suffering from a lack of credibility in Africa," Professor Dan Banik from the University of Oslo noted.

There are many countries looking to cash in on the goodwill India has earned in Africa. Ministry of External Affairs Secretary Dammu Ravi said that Japan is very keen to get involved in India's trilateral cooperation projects. Similarly, the UK, France, Germany, and the Netherlands have also shown interest.

The expert also pointed towards the importance of African-Indian Ocean Rim littorals for the Indian Ocean policy, where the Indian Navy is facing an increasing threat from the burgeoning Chinese Navy. The Indian Navy has recently re-oriented and rebalanced its maritime policy with renewed focus on Africa to remain the dominant force in the Indian Ocean.

"Today, more in the context of Indo-Pacific, where East Africa is extremely important for us. China, of course, is a major factor in Africa which we need to contend with and we need to find ways to work whichever way it is," Triguniyat concluded.

While addressing Uganda's parliament in July 2018, PM Modi articulated ten guiding principles for India's Africa engagement. This was Delhi’s first-ever stated Africa policy despite Delhi having a capacity building and programs policy for the continent from 1964 onwards.

The Narendra Modi government has also opened up new diplomatic missions to parts of the continent that have traditionally not had a large Indian diaspora. Bilateral visits have also increased manifold, giving fillip to the ties.