The role of non-African powers in Africa: a discussion

[Jedburgh]

Chatham House, 7 Apr 08: India's Engagement with the African Indian Ocean Rim States

In recent years India has strengthened its involvement in the African Indian Ocean Rim considerably. This shift in policy comes in part because of India's desire to compete with China's growing influence in the region. The Indian Ocean has immense significance to India's development. India's strategy is deepening not only commercially but due to concerns over its security and hegemony in the region, which are underpinned by India's 2004 maritime doctrine.

During the mid-1990s Indian foreign policy was largely introspective and concerned with consolidating its position as the regional power. Despite being a member of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation, there was little enthusiasm for the association and it produced few tangible results. The emergence of trilateral developmental initiative between India, Brazil and South Africa clearly reflected India's priority of positioning itself as a major developmental power.

The growing importance of the African Indian Ocean Rim to India is evidenced by increasing bilateral and trilateral efforts and improved relations, notably with Mauritius, the Seychelles, Madagascar and coastal states such as Mozambique, Kenya and Tanzania. India's most formidable economic and commercial partnership in the African Indian Ocean is with Mauritius.....

[Tom Odom]

Colonial history has tied a number of African Indian Ocean Rim countries to the India sub-continent since the 16th Century. Mozambique was a staging post for the Portuguese in Goa and often used over stamped Indian rupees. The British East Africa Protectorate (now Kenya and parts of Uganda) was originally administered out of Bombay and Indian rupees were its currency from 1897-1920.ii Today rupees remain the currency of the Seychelles and Mauritius and a significant Indian diaspora lives along the coast of East and Southern Africa, particularly in Mauritius, Kenya and South Africa.iii India has its most comprehensive diplomatic presence in this part of Africa, with embassies or high commissions in Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa, Seychelles, Madagascar and Mauritius.iv

This is an interesting paper. This development really is a question of form finally following substance. As indicated by the introduction, Indian ties to Africa date at least to the 16th century. The significance of this, however, goes well beyond the diplomatic presence highlighted in the opening paragraph. The Indian (and south Asian as a whole) population across the continent is huge and plays a tremendous role in nearly all aspects of life in the individual countries. In competition with China, it gives India a home team advantage the Chinese cannot match.

Best

Tom

[Stan]

The Statesman tends to steer away from economic cooperation and partnerships concentrating on long-term goal-oriented results. The article however spends too much time avoiding comparisons to the greedy west and energy hungry China. Interesting enough, but not very well balanced reporting.

The first ever India-Africa Forum Summit in New Delhi on April 8-9 brings together top functionaries and heads of governments of 14 African countries with their Indian counterparts to raise an old friendship to a new level. The summit is being held at a plastic juncture in world politics when the old order of unipolarity is giving way to a new distribution of power spread out more evenly across Asia, Europe and North America.

New Delhi has a longstanding programme called Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) through which thousands of nominees from African countries have been imparted training in defence preparedness, agriculture, small scale industries, entrepreneurship, engineering, telecommunications and engineering. ITEC has provided valuable support to the Afro-Asian Rural Reconstruction Organisation and inaugurated cooperation with regional African groups like the Southern African Development Community. The summit meeting on April 8-9 should strengthen this pillar of India-Africa partnership to neutralise fears that New Delhi is wooing Africa solely for greed of mineral treasures.

By upgrading initiatives like ITEC to the entire member base of the African Union, India can send the message that its intentions in Africa are not exploitative in the typical Western fashion. Indian diplomats are sensitive to the charge that they are courting Africa in order to compete geopolitically with China in an energy hunt. New Delhi has rejected appeals to team up with European and North American companies in Africa.

[AdamG]

Somewhere, years ago, I remember reading a theory that Delhi would releave some of their own overpopulation problems and 'fill the vacuum' after HIV leaves swaths of Africa empty.

Meanwhile, just last night:

New Delhi - The first India-Africa Summit began in New Delhi on Tuesday with the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announcing a duty-free trade preference scheme for 34 African countries, among the least-developed nations in the world.
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/s...ions__Roundup_

[Ray]

In competition with China, it gives India a home team advantage the Chinese cannot match.

It does, but is the Indian govt upto it?

The Indian govt has always been ambivalent and of the pussy footing type.

Nehru's desire to be larger than life and larger than the India polity cost India Kashmir, Aksai China and Tibet.

Mrs Gandhi alone showed that Indians are made of sterner stuff.

Thereafter,the deluge continues. India continues to kowtow to China instead of standing firm on her commitments and historical realities

With the Communists as the current govt's soul support, she is losing out everywhere, domestically as also externally.

Therefore, even if Africa is given on a platter, India will be all thumbs!

[tequila]

Interesting - when did India ever have a realistic chance of gaining control over Tibet?

Also, why exactly would the Tibetans welcome control from New Delhi any more than from Beijing?