As India held its biggest Africa summit with heads of 54 African countries, Chinese analysts played down the reports of competition between two Asian giants to gain influence saying that the two nations played different roles for the development of the African continent.
State-run Global Times which featured news of the India- Africa summit on its front page quoted Chinese analysts as saying that the closer ties between India and Africa will contribute to South-South cooperation and dismissed media reports that New Delhi is trying to challenge Beijing’s dominance in Africa as groundless.
Fu Xiaoqiang, a research fellow with the China Institutes of Contemporary Read More
Calling India and Africa “the two bright spots of hope and opportunities in the global economy”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the leaders of African nations in Delhi that India and Africa must “speak in one voice” for U.N. reforms.
Mr. Modi was addressing the representatives of all African nations gathered for the 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit.
“This is a world of free nations and awakened aspirations. Our institutions cannot be representative of our world, if they do not give voice to Africa, with more than a quarter of UN members, or the world’s largest democracy with one-sixth of humanity,” Mr. Modi said.
Officials are hopeful that the Read More
India and Africa on Thursday sought a decisive push for reform of United Nations Security Council and called on all countries to ensure that their territories were not used for cross-border terrorist activities.
In the Delhi Declaration 2015 adopted in the concluding session of the third India-Africa Forum Summit here, India and all 54 African countries demanded urgent collective action to put in place a more representative global governance architecture.
India noted the common African position and the aspirations of the African countries to “get their rightful place” in an expanded UN Security Council as new permanent members with full rights, while Africa took note of India’s position and Read More
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Thursday that the country will provide a $10 billion concessional credit to Africa in the next five years, along with a $600 million grant assistance. Modi made the announcement during a speech at the third India-Africa Forum Summit in Indian capital New Delhi on Thursday.
Modi said that the credit line will be in addition to the ongoing credit program in Africa, adding that the grant assistance includes “an India-Africa Development Fund of $100 million and an India-Africa Health Fund of $10 million.” The assistance will also include 50,000 scholarships available in India over the next five years to support expansion of institutions Read More
Iran has finalized buying 2.8 percent of the shares of Asian Infrastructures Investment Bank (AIIB), the Mehr News Agency quoted Mohammad Khazaei, Iran’s deputy economy minister for development affairs, as saying on Tuesday.
According to the official, the bank share purchase tactic aims to beef up Iran’s influence over some regional organizations.
AIIB is a multinational bank recently founded by China, whose stocks are held by a number of countries.
With an initial membership of 27 countries, AIIB was founded in October 2014 in Beijing. It is a multidimensional development body with a main focus on infrastructures. Countries such as France, Germany, Indonesia, Spain, and Vietnam, Read More
The Iran P5+1 nuclear deal was once the hottest topic in Washington — now it seems that no one cares about the fallout and aftermath.
Reported in Iranian newspapers and Russia Today, Iran is now set to join the BRICS New Development Bank, a Russian and Chinese brainchild for boosting a bloc of nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) with fresh development capital.
The BRICS group represents about 30 percent of the world’s GDP output and 17 percent of world trade. By forming this coalition, the bloc can operate outside of the auspices of the World Bank, as well as other “American” oversight organizations.
This was one of the greatest dangers Read More
The Third India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) offers host nation India much in the way of opportunity. This is the biggest African summit in terms of attendance ever to be hosted by any country. Of 54 countries invited, 52 confirmed their attendance with at least 41 heads of state attending. Trade, poverty alleviation, and security cooperation are the major focuses for the summit, but another important area is climate change. India and Africa are highly vulnerable to climate change. In Africa, annual agricultural losses due to climate are forecast to be around seven percent of GDP by 2050. India stands to lose 1.8 percent of GDP. Besides agriculture, Read More
Your Majesties, Chairperson of the African Union, His Excellency Robert Mugabe, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Madam Dlamini-Zuma, Excellencies,
The fabric of this world is richer because of the 54 sovereign flags of Africa. Today, their brilliant colours have made Delhi the most special place in the world.
To the 41 Heads of State and Government and the other eminent leaders; to the hundreds of senior officials, business leaders and journalists from Africa, I say this: we are deeply, deeply honoured by your presence today.
To our visitors from the land where history began, humanity grew and new hope rises;
From the deserts of the north, where Read More
Much of India’s development priorities and Africa’s vision for its future are aligned, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today at the third India-Africa Forum Summit in New Delhi on Thursday, announcing a slew of measures to support the continent.
“India is honoured to be a development partner for Africa. It is a partnership beyond strategic concerns and economic benefits. It is formed from the emotional bonds we share and the solidarity we feel for each other,” he said.
He added that Africa and India are the two bright spots of hope and opportunities in the global economy, which is witnessing a downturn.
“We will open our doors more; we will Read More
African leaders on Wednesday unveiled a wishlist of projects that they wanted Indian assistance with, including the setting up of a science and technology park, an industrial park, the continued availability of Indian generic drugs at affordable prices, more soft loans on concessional terms, more scholarships for African students and infrastructure development.
India, on its part, sought deeper collaboration from Africa in the energy sector—oil, natural gas as well as uranium—and appealed for African support on issues such as UN Security Council reforms and terrorism. The two sides also discussed the prospects of setting up a fertilizer unit in Ghana even as countries like Chad and Equatorial Guinea expressed desire Read More