The India-Africa Forum Summit aims to strengthen economic ties and foster partnerships in key sectors like pharmaceuticals and green energy.
Image: IOL/ Ron AI
New Delhi will host the fourth edition of the India-Africa Forum Summit on May 31. This will be preceded by the Senior Officers' Meeting on May 28 and the Foreign Ministers' Meeting on May 29.
The theme of this edition of the Summit is India Africa Strategic Partnership for Innovation, Resilience and Inclusive Transformation (IA-SPIRIT). Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing the Parliament in Kampala, Uganda, in June 2018, had laid down ten principles of India-Africa Cooperation. The Summit will be an occasion for African leaders to work with the Indian leadership to further strengthen cooperation in light of these principles. The Summit will cover the entire gamut of inter-State partnerships in political, security, economic, trade, developmental, cultural, and people-to-people relationships.
The Kampala principles enunciated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasise development partnership, fostering robust trade and encouraging Indian investment across the continent. The development partnership between India and Africa has seen the extension of 190 lines of credit totalling over US$12 billion to 43 African countries. More than 200 projects valued at US$4.5 billion have been completed across diverse sectors, including drinking water supply, agriculture, transport, power, rural electrification, and digital connectivity. India has also supplied equipment, ambulances and radiotherapy machines for cancer treatment as well as disaster relief operations, including food aid, both through lines of credit and grants.
India’s concessional finance and lines of credit have supported agricultural infrastructure, including sugar mills in Ghana and Ethiopia, cassava plantations in Cameroon, and rice processing units across Central and West Africa. Indian companies are increasingly present in African agriculture, helping advance mechanisation, value addition and agri-processing. An India-Africa Institute of Agriculture and Rural Development was inaugurated in Malawi in 2019.
The supply of medicines, medical equipment and vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic has been our most significant recent contribution. Under the ‘Vaccine Maitri’ programme, India provided these items to 32 countries in Africa.
India’s most enduring and valuable contribution lies in capacity building that prepares Africa for the future. Under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation programme (ITEC), thousands receive training in programmes as varied as nanotechnology, big data, information technology, cybersecurity, auditing, English language, and yoga, among the 200 courses administered by around 100 premier institutes and universities in India.
Apart from ITEC, we have also started building some of the Centres of Excellence in Africa, so that people can be trained closer to home. The prime examples of this are the opening of a campus of the Indian Institute of Technology (Madras) in Zanzibar and the opening of the National Forensic Sciences University in Jinji, Uganda. India has set up Centres of Excellence in Information Technology in many African countries, strengthening digital skills and employability. In South Africa, India has helped establish the Gandhi-Mandela Centre of Specialisation for Artisanal Skills at Tshwane South TVET College. Another similar Centre is being established at Majuba TVET College, following the outstanding success of the Tshwane Centre.
Digital Public Infrastructure is the new area of cooperation between India and Africa. India has signed MOUs on India Stack with 7 African countries: Kenya, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, The Gambia, Ethiopia, Lesotho and Seychelles. The Modular Open-Source Identity Platform (MOSIP) is partnering with 19 African countries to support digital identity and the broader implementation of Digital Public Infrastructure.
India-Africa trade reached US$ 103 billion in the financial year 2024-25, representing 17% year-on-year growth, with Indian exports to Africa amounting to US$ 45 billion and imports from Africa totalling US$ 58 billion. India is among the top 5 investors in Africa, with investments of about US$80 billion. Leading Indian companies such as Tata, Adani, Reliance, Mahindra and Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Varun Beverages, and Jindal, to name a few, have established a significant presence in diverse sectors, including agriculture, mining, hospitality, telecommunications, information technology, manufacturing, infrastructure, and energy. Notably, Indian investment in Africa has emphasised the creation of employment opportunities for local communities. India’s Duty-Free Tariff Preference (DFTP) Scheme provides duty-free access on 98.2% of India’s tariff lines for Least Developed Countries, benefitting 33 African countries.
The 4th IAFS, in addition to the official segment outlined above, will include a high-level business segment featuring an India-Africa Business Dialogue and Exhibition, to be held on 29-31 May, 2026. As a curtain raiser, an Academic Conference will be organised by the Indian Council of World Affairs on May 22 to 23 on the theme ‘Shared futures, Shared Strength: Expanding India-Africa Partnership’. The Summit’s cultural dimension will include the India-Africa Dance and Music festival on May 23 in New Delhi, preceded by a joint artistic workshop from May 18 to 23.
As India convenes the 4th IAFS, it may be recalled that the African Union became a member of the G20 during India’s Presidency of the organisation in 2023, with strong endorsement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, underscoring India's commitment to Africa and the Global South. African countries have also supported India-led global initiatives. Thirty-nine African countries have joined the International Solar Alliance (ISA), nine have joined the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), eleven have joined the Global Bio-Fuel Alliance (GBA), and ten have joined the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA). The IAFS Summit will be followed by the IBCA Summit on June 1.
India frames its partnership with Africa around a broader strategic vision and a long-term development roadmap, aligned with its own vision of Viksit Bharat (Developed India 2047) and Africa's Agenda 2063. The Summit is expected to consolidate a comprehensive framework for future engagements between India and Africa, across political, economic and cultural domains. This edition of the India-Africa Forum Summit will be a landmark event that will strengthen the contours of India-Africa relations at Pan-African, regional and bilateral levels.
*Jaspreet is Consulate General of India, Cape Town