At a three-day interactive conference with the African continent next week in New Delhi, ministers, businessmen and experts from both sides will discuss 145 business projects worth $9 billion.
External affairs minister SM Krishna will inaugurate the sixth India-Africa Project Partnership conclave on March 14, being jointly organised by the external affairs and commerce ministries, as well as the EXIM Bank and the CII. Ghana?s vice-president John Dramani Mahama will be the guest of honour at the conclave.
The conference that seeks to give a fresh momentum to India?s multifaceted engagement with the African continent will take-off with a CEOs? roundtable which will put forth an action plan to scale up bilateral trade to $70 billion in the next five years. Also, it is expected to revolve around four linked sub-themes: India-Africa partnership, rural economies, Africa tomorrow and Going Green.
The major focus of the conclave will be on the infrastructure development in Africa. The presence of a strong Indian diaspora in several African nations further improves the ties with African business and trade networks, sources said.
The other focus areas of discussion will be project financing, mining and minerals, agriculture and agro-processing, energy, consultancy, transport connectivity, SMEs promotion, pharmaceuticals and healthcare and human capital formation.
Major Indian investment in Africa is in sectors like manufacturing; non-financial services such as IT and IT-enabled services (ITeS) and energy.
Sudan and Mauritius are among the top five investment destinations for India, with both accounting for about 18 % of India’s total FDI flow. However, infrastructure in the region still remains a critical area for investment.
In 2009, the delegates from both sides discussed projects worth over $12 billion, the fourth conclave, held in New Delhi in March 2008, and had discussed projects worth over $10 billion.