India unveils billions for Africa

New Delhi, April 8: India on Tuesday unveiled an Africa package, which included lines of credit worth $5.4 billion over the next five years and preferential market access for exports from certain African countries.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the heads of state and/or government participating in the first India-Africa Forum Summit here India will undertake development projects against grants in excess of $500 million over the next six years.

He announced doubling of scholarships for the African students in undergraduate, post-graduate and higher courses and increasing the number of training slots under technical assistance programmes from 1,100 to 1,600 every year.

The Prime Minister also proposed an India-Africa Volunteer Corps for development work, which can on a pilot basis identify projects in the areas of public health, informal education and women’s empowerment. "The time has come to create a new architecture for our engagement in the 21st century. We visualise a partnership that is anchored in the fundamental principles of equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit," he said on the occasion.

The duty-free tariff preference scheme will be extended to the 34 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) on the African continent and 16 other LDCs.

The Prime Minister said under the duty-free tariff preference scheme, India will unilaterally provide preferential market access for exports from all 50 least developed countries, 34 of which are on the African continent.

It will cover 94 per cent of India’s total tariff lines. Specifically, it will provide preferential market access on tariff lines that comprise 92.5 per cent of global exports of all LDCs. Products of immediate interest to Africa which are covered include cotton, cocoa, aluminium ore, copper ore, cashewnut, cane sugar, ready-made garment, fish fillet and non-industrial diamond.

"Between 2003-04 and 2008-09, we have extended lines of credit amounting to $2.15 billion. Over the next five years, we will more than double this amount and offer additional lines of credit amounting to $5.4 billion, both bilaterally and to the regional economic communities of Africa," the Prime Minister said in his opening address at the plenary session of the India-Africa Forum Summit.

He announced New Delhi’s intention to enhance the Aid to Africa budget of the ministry of external affairs for implementing projects in critical areas focusing on human resource development and capacity building.

"Over the next five to six years, we propose to undertake projects against grants in excess of $500 million," he explained.

Developing infrastructure in the areas of railways, information technology, telecommunication and power generation and physical connectivity in Africa would be a priority for India. The government will reach out to the private sector and make full use of public-private partnerships.

"The 21st century is often described as the Asian century. India wishes to see the 21st century as the Century of Asia and Africa with the people of the two continents working together to promote inclusive globalisation," the Prime Minister said.

"Today we have a second chance to take charge of our own destiny," he added.

Noting that no one understands better than India and Africa the imperative need for global institutions to reflect current realities and to build a more equitable global economy and polity, the Prime Minister called for cooperative mechanisms for exchange of views, consultation and for working out common strategies for addressing pressing issues.

Source: Asian Age