New Delhi, May 23 (KNN) India and Africa can partner and their strong relations can be instrumental in shaping the future of the world, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said at the inaugural of the 5 day Annual meeting of the 1^st African Development bank summit in Gandhinagar.

The Minister further said that the India-Africa partnership model provides huge scope as the inter-dependence is voluntary without any imposition and compulsions. The relations between the two nations have progressed to whole another level.

Talking about the agenda, Jaitley said that the ‘High 5’ agenda of the AfDB focusses on five major developmental targets. These include agriculture, industrialisation, energy, regional connectivity and improved quality of life.

During the five day summit, heads of states from various African countries will be attending the various sessions of the event under different themes.

Also an event titled ‘Africa India Cooperation’ will be held on sidelines of the main event. The event will focus on health-care, renewable energy, skill development, education, trade and investment and manufacturing.

The Indian side will also exhibit technologies and innovations by the Indian companies that could be extended to the African Nations.

The recent trade trends between India and African indicate an increase of almost five fold, in the last five years. Also Indian exports to Africa have registered a substantial increase from 14 billion dollars in 2007-8 to 23 billion in the fiscal year 2016-17. (KNN/ DA)