India-Africa Relations: From Diaspora To Diplomacy

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Context: Recently, the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi has visited Namibia on the last leg of his five country outreach to Global South on 9th July, highlighting growing cooperation between India and the African continent.

About PM Modi's Namibia Visit:

  • Namibia conferred its highest civilian honour, the Order of the Most Ancient Welwitschia Mirabilis, on PM Modi.
  • Namibia has adopted India's flagship UPI digital payment ecosystem, as an outcome of UPI technology licensing agreement signed between NPCI and Bank of Namibia in April 2024.
  • Both countries signed several agreements, including an MoU on Entrepreneurship Development Centre in Namibia and to cooperate in the field of health and medicine.
  • Nigeria also completed all the formalities to join India led Coalition of Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and the Global Biofuel Alliance.
History of India-Africa Relationship:
  • India played an instrumental role in the decolonisation of the African continent.
  • The Non Cooperation Movement (NAM), launched in 1961, advocated the interests of developing countries, including those from Africa.
  • India-Africa Forum Summit (2008) in New Delhi sought to build a comprehensive partnership with African nations.
  • Kampala Principles, outlined in 2018, serves as the guiding framework of India's relatonship with Africa.
Many Faces of India-Africa Partnership:
  • Trade:As per International Monetary Fund (IMF), as of 2022, India was the third largest trading parter of Africa, accounting for 7 percent of exports and 5 percent of imports.
  • Infrastructure: The Asia-Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC) was launched by India in cooperation with Japan to enhance infrastructure generation in Africa.
  • Geopolitical Ally: African Union (AU) has been included as a G-20 partner during India's 2023 G-20 presidency.
  • Maritime Security: East coast of Africa holds immense potential for India's maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
  • Defense: India-Africa Defense Dialogue (IADD) has been formalised to find areas of mutual cooperation for better interoperability.
  • Education: The Study in India programme was launched to attract meritorious students from Africa and neighbouring countries.
  • Humanitarian Assistance: India has consistently provided humanitarian assistance to African countries during national disasters, pandemics and other crises. For example, Made in India vaccnies delivered to Africa helped the continent deal effectively with COVID pandemic.
Indian Diaspora in Africa:
  • The earliest account of the presence of Indians in Africa can be found in the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, written in first century AD.
  • South Africa is home to the largest population of Indian diaspora in Africa at 1.3 million, mainly in Durban. Large populations are also found in Mauritius, Reunion Islands, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
  • Most of the present generation of Indians living in Africa trace their origin to colonial times which facilitated movement of indentured labour from India to Africa who worked as domestic workers and plantation labour.
  • Mahatma Gandhi played a critical role in the gradual emancipation of these indentured labourers from colonial oppression especially in South Africa where he developed his method of nonviolent Satyagraha.
  • Thanks to the presence of a large Indian diaspora in Africa, imprints of its cultural influence have spread far and wide across the continent such as Yoga, Bollywood etc.
Challenges in India-Africa Relations:
  • Limited Trade Potential: Despite being Africa's fourth largest trade partner, India-Africa bilateral trade remains at 90.5 billion dollar (2022-23) compared to China-Africa trade which crossed 250 billion dollar in 2021.
  • Geopolitical Rivalries: Geopolitical rivalries over critical minerals, markets and China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) presents tough challenge to India's diplomatic outreach in Africa.
  • Security Issues: Rise of terrorism particularly in the Sahel region and civil wars disrupt India's initiatives in the region.
  • Limited Impact of Development Cooperation: Delays in project execution, cost overruns discourage African partners to opt for India's assistance in infrastructure creation. This increases the popularity of Chinese infrastructure projects.
  • Climate Change: Frequent disasters such as cyclones along East African coast lead to loss of lives and destruction of property.
  • Cultural Barriers: Discrimination against African nationals in India deters positive people-to-people interaction.
Way Forward:
  • Diversify trade portfolio by focusing on emerging sectors like critical minerals, renewable energy.
  • Fast-track cooperaton on counterterrorism, maritime security and cyber security.
  • Facilitate sustainable partnership on climate friendly agriculture, meeting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
  • Foster trilateral initiatives like India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) to adress Africa's developmental challenges.
  • Leverage cultural and historial ties with Africa to resolve common challenges affecting both regions.

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