India's partnership with African Countries that create jobs opportunities

On Wednesday, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) top official said that India wants to build a genuine partnership with African countries that creates jobs and opportunities and New  Delhi is looking at ways to cooperate with various groupings in the  Indo-Pacific region.

Speaking at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses Africa  Day Round Table on “India-Africa Partnership in Changing World”,  Secretary of Economic Affairs in the MEA T S Tirumurti said "India-Africa  partnership would be a defining one in addressing the challenges in the changing world. India and Africa will also look at ways to cooperate in the Indian-Ocean  Rim Association (IORA) and other groupings in the Indo-Pacific region".

Further Tirumurti said "India wants to build a genuine partnership with African countries  that creates jobs and opportunities. It is with this in mind that we decided to offer 50,000 scholarships under the i-tech scholarships  programme. African priorities are our priorities and that is what our prime  minister has always emphasised. Over the years, our relations have acquired greater depth across a range of areas. There have been 29  visits to Africa at the level of prime minister, president, vice-president,  apart from several other ministerial visits".

Tirumurti said "India had already opened six of its 18 missions in Africa. Our engagement is not limited to the bilateral political level but it also involves diplomatic mechanisms at all three levels of  continental, regional and bilateral and through the multilateral forums".

Tirumurti also saidthat the Africa and India had come a long way and had a long path to walk in the future. While the relationship with Africa is on the upswing, the challenge is to maintain this momentum and ensure follow-up on our successes as well as find new areas for cooperation.

Tirumurti referring to Indo-African economic partnership "With the African continent, our investments are steadily growing in a range of sectors and India has become the fifth largest investor in Africa with cumulative investments at over USD 54 billion. Sizeable investments have been made in Oil and Gas, mining, banking, pharma, textiles and other sectors in African countries. Several Indian companies have entered into Joint ventures in Africa. Many important firms from Africa also have established their presence in India".