India pushing to edge past China in Africa
- By Sajjad Malik
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E-mail China.org.cn, October 26, 2015
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India is trying to expand its political and economic influence in Africa through the platform of India Africa Forum Summit. |
As India prospers, it is trying to expand the political and economic influence around the world by creating bilateral and multilateral cooperative mechanisms. One such platform came into existence in 2008 when the first India Africa Forum Summit was held in New Delhi. It had limited success but laid the foundation for future cooperation in various fields. The first summit was followed by another one in 2011 held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
But it is the third India Africa Forum Summit being held in New Delhi on October 26-30 that has attracted a lot attention due to the number of participating nations and its possible impact on relations between the two sides. It is expected that more than 50 African countries are attending with key leaders like presidents of South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.
The participants also include the Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, and India has faced criticism from human rights groups for inviting al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court.
The summit involving the government of India led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the heads of African countries will be held on October 29, followed by bilateral meetings next day. However, the activities will start earlier with the meeting of senior officials on October 26 and a meeting of foreign ministers on October 27.
According to various reports, it is the biggest gathering of international leaders in India since 1980s when it had hosted separate summits for the Commonwealth and Non-Aligned Movement nations.
The main objective of the summit is to promote India's trade and commercial links with African countries which needed capital and expertise in various fields to fast-track their development. India has both money and educated manpower to lend the support.
As they say there is no free lunch in international politics. India by hosting the African leaders is seeking to maximize its outreach to the markets of the Africa, where already China is an established player and a rival. Thus, the move poses a challenge to Beijing's dominant economic interests in Africa.
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