NEW DELHI: India has a fairly substantial presence in Africa and trade and investments with the continent are increasing. It is for the same reason that India is looking at a Pan-Africa Free Trade Agreement.
"If I take all of Africa today, India’s trade is $98 billion with Africa. India’s investments are $75 billion, and we are expecting both this trade with Africa and investments in Africa to grow, and I certainly, so there is a pan-African larger continental Free Trade arrangement in the making, as it unfolds, I think it makes it easier to both trade with Africa and invest in Africa,’’ said External Affairs Minister, Dr S Jaishankar, while addressing the Indian diaspora and business community in Tanzania.
It may be recalled, that less than a month back, Commerce Minister, Piyush Goyal, after interacting with 15 Ambassadors from the African region talking about trade and investment had said that India was open to FTA with Africa as a whole or with individual countries.
"India and Africa share remarkable friendship across decades ad have the potential of becoming the powerhouse of the future. India would act as a trusted partner to expand trade, commerce, business, investment and opportunities with Africa,’’ Goyal had said in June.
Meanwhile, Africa is becoming the second-largest recipient of credit from India. 42 African nations have received about $32 billion which translates into a little less than 40 per cent of all credit extended by India during the last decade. India is trying to catch up with China which has a deep imprint across Africa primarily through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
India finds a unified market in Africa but unified markets still require points of entry, regional hubs. That is why it is important for India to be connected with countries within Africa individually too.
"Within the unified market, there would be a differentiated level of, I would say, governance and governance quality and investment friendliness. And that is where, I would say, Tanzania is very important. Because from an Indian perspective, when we look at Africa, for us, Africa, first of all, means East Africa, because this is the Africa with which we have a historical familiarity…where, again, the diaspora is strong. So even as Africa as a continent really lowers its internal barriers, for us, the case to be in Tanzania and to work with Tanzania becomes that much stronger,’’ Dr Jaishankar said while speaking to the diaspora in Tanzania. India has strong trade ties with them.
Dr Jaishankar also spoke about trade in local currencies. He said that the India Central Bank has cleared such a possibility.
“So the three Indian banks which are here have the ability to do trade settlements in each other's currencies. I am told a few transactions have already been made in Indian rupees and Tanazanian Shillings,” said Dr Jaishankar.
India has just signed a Memorandum of Understanding for establishing the first IIT campus in Zanzibar.
"The IIT is an investment in the capacities of Tanzania, but we expect this not just to be a Tanzanian institution, we expect it actually to be a magnet for all of Africa and really emerge as a pan-African institution of education and technological excellence. I am very glad that it’s located in Zanzibar because that is a natural confluence, that’s a meeting point really between India and Africa,’’ EAM added.