India should not Consider Africa as Monolithic Entity: Navtej Singh Sarna

March 03, 2015

New Delhi: India should rethink its strategic priorities in case of Africa and should not consider the continent as a monolithic space, said Shri Navtej Singh Sarna, Secretary (West), Ministry of External Affairs, in his keynote address during the inaugural session of the 3rd India-Africa Strategic Dialogue on ‘India-Africa: Building Synergies in Peace, Security and Development’, organised by the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) on March 3-4, 2015. Insisting that different regions in Africa have different issues, Shri Sarna said that India should address them accordingly.

Speaking in the context of India and Africa, Shri Sarna said that the linkage between peace and development cannot be ignored. There can be no peace without development and no development without peace.

Further, drawing a parallel between India and Africa, Secretary (West) said that both the regions are among the fastest growing areas in the world. “We have a very steep curve ahead of us which has to be traversed and tried and this can be done only if we have peace” he stated.

However, peace in the case of Africa, is simply not “the absence of war” he said, insisting that peace in the continent is an entire ecology that covers good governance, good neighbourly relations and a society which allows individuals, particularly from multi-ethnic, multi-religious societies to actualise their potential.

Referring to Africa as the ‘Continent of the Future’, he said that the continent has shown an average GDP growth rate of over 5% and has a combined GDP of 2.6 trillion dollars. The continent’s mineral resources are unmatched. The countries of the African continent have shown high growth despite tremendous difficulties. Seven of the world’s top ten growing economies come from Africa, he added.

Terming Africa as a potential future market of the world, Shri Sarna said the middle class of Africa matches the middle class of India. There is a demographic dividend to be reaped in Africa, with 45% of the population falling between the ages of 15-45. Hence the need for developing skills through training, education, human resource development etc, he noted.

Speaking about India-Africa relations he said that both regions have been blessed with a certain preset bank of goodwill due to historical linkages and the need now is to capitalise on this.

Elaborating upon India’s wide ranging policy on Africa, he mentioned the presence of an extensive diplomatic contingent in Africa and high level exchanges. India and Africa are also working on successful projects including the Pan Africa E-Network Project that has enhanced the relations between the two regions. The role played by the Indian Peace keeping forces on the African continent also speaks well of India’s policy towards Africa, he said.

Terming the Indian private sector’s increasing investments in Africa as a very positive development, Shri Sarna noted that in symbiotic parlance ‘Africa is a resource which has to be cooperatively developed to the mutual benefit of both sides and provide an injection for our development process.’

Speaking further, he said that India also has strategic defence relations with several countries in Africa in terms of military training and capacity building. These are crucial in “building the fabric in which there can be capacity building for security purposes.”

Secretary (West) mentioned the lack of infrastructure for energy and food security and increasing extremism and fundamentalism as some of the challenges faced by the continent. Maritime security is also crucial for the growth of the ‘Blue Economy’ of both the regions.

Earlier, in his welcome address, Shri Ravi Kant, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Defence & Officiating DG, IDSA said that India recognises that stronger economic ties with Africa are important and that India-Africa relations can be the model for ‘South South relationship’.