India and Africa on Wednesday declared their support for each other in an expanded UN Security Council (UNSC).
However, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that India is not in race or competition with China or any other country for strengthening all round partnership with Africa. Both the nation also adopted blueprint to boost partnership. The Delhi Declaration and the Africa-India Framework for Co-operation?adopted at the end of the summit flesh out a vision of the India-Africa partnership and co-operation in the 21st century.
The framework included collaboration in areas ranging from agriculture, food security, technology and trade to energy, capacity-building and co-operation on global issues like the UN reforms and multilateral trade negotiations.
??We are not in race or competition with China or any other country…The decision to strengthen relations between India and Africa is not a new phenomenon. We have a common colonial past and in the post-colonial period we have worked together,?? Singh told the mediapersons at a joint press conference after the conclusion of the two-day Summit along with heads of state/representatives of 14 participating African countries.
Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, who is also Chairperson of the 53-nation Africa Union (AU), responding to a question said both the sides had agreed that Africa and India deserved permanent representation in the UNSC and would support each other. According to him, both sides had been broadly working together for UN reforms and were now ready to strive to make the UN more representative and democratic.
??We are in agreement and are working together…we reaffirmed our commitment to working together so that Africa gets a place on the UNSC and India gets a place (on the UNSC).,?? he added.
Kikwete called for adopting new technologies and finding of new and modern ways for boosting agricultural production in Africa, while pointing out the twin problems of shortage of food and high import prices of food articles that Africa was facing.
To illustrate India’s approach towards Africa as one that centers on technology transfers and human resource development, Singh offered New Delhi’s assistance to usher in a green revolution in Africa through holistic capacity building in agricultural production, storage and transportation.
The PM said India did not want to impose any pattern and it was for Africa to choose its own patterrn of development. Replying to a question on how would India’s announcement of tariff concessions to 50 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) have an impact, said the immediate impact would be on goods announced on Tuesday.
In the longer term, the private sector could work together with its African counterparts if adequate benefits were to be derived to ensure that tariff announcements did not remain an “empty gesture”.
According to Uganda President Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI, exporting products to India will benefit from the duty free tariff preference scheme for least developed countries. India, he said, was interested in cotton, cocoa, aluminum and copper ore, fish fillet and clothes.
To a question on the Indian media’s lacklustre response to the Summit, Singh said the media responded to what engaged public attention at that particular momemt. However, the “thinking population” recognised that India and Africa must become active partners in social and economic development.
Earlier in his opening remarks, Singh said that apart from the two documents adopted, that they had also undertaken several outreach events including the first-ever India-Africa Editors Conference, joint performances by Indian and African cultural troupes, seminar of intellectuals on India-Africapartnership in 21st century, programme for youth and women from Africa and a business conclave.
The Tanzanian President in his opening remarks, said the two documents adopted today would provide institutional modalities for strengthening cooperation between the two sides. It had also been agreed to appeal to the G-8 Summit at Okinawa in Japan next July to discuss the matter and agree on a plan of action. At the same time, Foreign Ministers of both sides had been assigned to meet as a matter of urgency to develop a common position on the matter.