India Boosts Trade with Africa
To
formulate a strategy to boost
India-Africa
Trade & Investment
The
Commerce Ministry and Indian High Commissions and Embassies of eleven African
countries arranged an interaction over Digital Video Conference (DVC) over two
days, on 3rd and 6th May 2019, with the Indian business community in Africa.
The interactions with Indian Diaspora were held in Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya,
Zambia, and Mauritius, Nigeria, Mozambique, Ghana, South Africa, Botswana, and
Madagascar. This initiative was held in order to build an effective engagement
with the Indian Diaspora in Africain order to further deepen and strengthen
India-Africa trade ties.
The
DVC was attended by over 400 members of Indian business community in 11 African
countries.
India’s
total trade with the African region during 2017-18 was USD 62.69 billion (8.15%
of India’s total trade with the World). India’s share of exports to African
countries as a percentage of India’s total exports to the world was of the
order of 8.21% in 2017-18. Africa
region’s share in India’s total imports from the World accounted for 8.12% in
2017-18.
Today,
African countries present immense opportunities for India with the world’s
largest land mass, 54 countries, a population growing to be almost equivalent
to that of India, huge mineral resources, oil wealth, a youthful population,
falling poverty levels and increasing consumption patterns. Thus, Africa has a
huge demand for new business models for market entry, stable market access,
entrepreneurship and investments in transport, telecom, tourism, financial
services, real estate and construction.
This
initiative of the Commerce Ministry emphasizes the need for a multipronged
strategy for further enhancing trade and investment ties between the two
regions. Commerce Ministry recognizes that for formulating an effective export
strategy it is imperative to engage the Indian business community in Africa for
mutual gain for both sides as trade relations between the people of same origin
in still greater confidence amongst trade partners.
The
Indian community in Africa is playing a vital role in all fields like politics,
business and education. As per the latest available estimates the current
strength of the Indian Diaspora in the African countries is 2.8 million out of
those 2.5 million are PIOs and rest 220967 are NRIs. Total overseas Indians are
30.83 million of which 17.83 million are PIOs and 13 million are NRIs.
(Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, 2016). Indian Diaspora in Africa
constitutes 9.11% of the total Diaspora of India.
The
inherent strength of India in Africa is its rich and vast Diaspora which has
established strong links with the political, economic and social fabric of the
African continent. In order to formulate a strategy to boost India-Africa Trade
& Investment, the Indian Diaspora in Africa has to be leveraged further in
order to ensure that the strategy is effective. Suggestions were sought from
the India business community.
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