A Conference on “India and the New Economic Partnership for African Development (NEPAD): Furthering Africa-India Economic Cooperation” was held today in New Delhi.  It was organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Export-Import (EXIM)  Bank of India in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs and was attended by over 30 representatives of industry and finance from various African countries who interacted with their counterparts in India.

Among the participants were the President of the Afreximbank, President and Directors of the PTA Bank, President of Development Bank of Southern Africa, the President of the East African Development Bank and representatives of the central banks of Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.  High-level government delegations from Sengal and South Africa also attended the Conference.

This important Conference is part of the Government of India’s  vibrant “Focus Africa” policy which aims at providing a functional framework for sustained partnership between India and individual African countries,  as  well as with regional groupings in the continent.  This framework would utilize our core strength of strong democratic values, our steady economic growth, our large pool of scientific and technical manpower and a diversified experience in development.

In his Keynote Address delivered to the Conference by Shri Digvijay Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs said that India has had a long-standing partnership with Africa and through this important Conference India intends to evolve stronger bonds by developing strong financial institutional linkages and a partnership in trade and industry in our common endeavor to meet the challenges of the new  Millennium. 

In this respect, the Conference has fulfilled the objectives set for it and it is hoped that it would lead to further productive interactions between the Indian industry and the African financial institutions.

New Delhi

July 26, 2002

Key Note ADDRESS By Shri Digvijay Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs On “India and NEPAD—Furthering India and Africa Economic Cooperation”, July 26, 2002

Chairman, Excellencies, Distinguished Partners from our countries in neighbouring Africa, distinguished representatives of Indian industry and financial institutions, 

Ladies & Gentlemen

I am delighted today to be in your midst to join you at this important Conference on India and the New Economic Partnership for African Development (NEPAD).

We, in India, have had a long-standing partnership with Africa. This partnership has historical significance and importance, but, what is more, we have invested in it a large degree of relevance in the modern world today.

The shores of East Africa and India have had several thousand years of contact. This contact was carried through to southern and western Africa as well as to our brothers in north Africa. Our common approach to the challenges of colonialism and development led to the building of a strong bond. Though times have changed and we have all achieved political independence, I wish to assure you through this important Conference that we intend to evolve stronger bonds through the development of financial institutional linkages and a partnership in trade and industry. Through this, we believe that the challenges of the 21^st century, which are before us, can be better met.   

Excellencies, Ladies & Gentlemen,  

The New Economic Partnership for African Development is new in its conception. We evaluate it positively. You may recall India’s strong participation at the NEPAD summit dealing with private sector initiatives in Dakar in Senegal April this year. The composite government and private sector delegation manifested the commitment we had to this new initiative in Africa.

 We are impressed by the desire and the confidence of countries in Africa to take charge of their own destinies, responsibility for decisions and evolve their own roads to development. We believe that India is a sustainable development partner of Africa, and has been so for several decades. Our own experience of development, which has led to an average growth rate of 5.8% in the last 5 years, and an exportable food surplus as well as creation of a large bank of skilled human resources, opens the way for cooperation with African countries in these important areas.

Excellencies, Ladies & Gentlemen,  

This initiative that we have taken through my Ministry of External Affairs to promote private sector linkages, including in the sphere of international finance, is an idea close to our hearts. This initiative is a part of the continuum of activity of our revitalized Africa Policy on which I place immense emphasis. The Africa Day Lecture, the Seminar on India and Africa, and now this important Conference, all reflect our desire to carry the enthusiasm for Africa beyond the realm of government in India to the private sector, to academia, to art and culture and to civil society and beyond.

You are aware, Ladies & Gentlemen, that India has had a modest presence through the offers of lines of credit to many countries in Africa. These lines have been conditioned by our own experience and availability of capital. We are confident that in this conference, you would have addressed the issues for improving the utilization of these lines of credit. On my part, I can assure you that we would continue to strive to raise the availability of credit to bilateral and regional institutions in Africa and we set for ourselves a target of $200 million dollars to be made available in the next one year.

We have also committed through the Ministry of Commerce promotional funds to implement the Focus Africa programme, and we would continue to use those programmes to enhance our trade, commerce and investment-related work in full measure.

Excellencies, Ladies & Gentlemen,

This Conference fulfils our objective of starting a significant dialogue between financial institutions in Africa and India and for a better interaction of African financial institutions with Indian industry. With this effort, both the CII and Exim Bank of India have played important roles. The Ministry of External Affairs shall continue to work with them in future.

As our commitment to the promotion of private sector contacts between African and Indian institutions, I am happy to announce that through the Africa Division of my Ministry, we would institute a training programme for private sector institutions to be conducted in India. We believe that this programme will enable private sector institutions to play a more effective role in furthering business contacts between apex chambers of commerce & Industry.

Excellencies, Ladies & Gentlemen,

I have great hope that the concept of NEPAD, which has emerged in Africa and is under discussion for its appropriate implementation, will find adequate support in our modest effort today to institutionalize and promote private sector linkages with the help of the Government of India. We believe that a new age of cooperation between India and Africa has emerged and I am personally committed to provide greater impetus and emphasis to develop a viable, sustainable and diversified relationship between India and Africa, for which the NEPAD initiative provides an appropriate mechanism.

New Delhi,

July 26, 2002