India to make Africa a close ally for economic development, growth of SMEs
Updated: Oct 20, 2015 12:31:46pm
New Delhi, Oct 20 (KNN) Considering that both India and Africa share various social and economic development related concerns, the Government of India is looking forward to working with Africa to promote industrialisation, job creation, agriculture production and growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), Union Railway Minister, Suresh Prabhu said.
“Government of India is now committed to make sure that Africa becomes a close ally of India in terms of shifting the gear of developmental goals in the world,” he said while inaugurating ‘India-Africa Business Champion Awards 2015,’ organised by ASSOCHAM here on Monday, as per an official release.
He said that these goals can be achieved through government to government interaction, private sector participation, joint ventures between government-private players and in many other ways.
“We are looking forward to working with Africa in a very significant way because we feel we share lot of values, lot of concerns and there is a lot of priority as far as development is concerned,” said Prabhu.
He added that both these geographies are really going to be fastest growing economies of the world, India is already the fastest and Africa being at a lower base rate can grow even faster in next few years’ time.
The minister also released an ASSOCHAM-TARI (Thought Arbitrage Research Institute) joint study titled, ‘India-Africa Trade: Continuous sunshine.’
Highlighting that true potential of India-Africa economic alliance is grossly under-utilised, the study has noted that there is huge scope for Indian companies operating in banking, construction and infrastructure, consumer goods, telecom sectors.
“Indian government should immediately engage itself with all trade blocs and associations, including African Union, in the light of formation of Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) and the proposed African Free Trade Zone,” it suggested.
The study added that bilateral arrangements need to be explored for the same objective, wherever possible.
Most African countries present an excellent opportunity for India to export refined petroleum products. Besides South Africa can be a good market for medicine, automobiles and auto components; Namibia for gems and jewellery and floating structures and Nigeria for natural rubber products.
“There is a huge potential for trade with these countries, since the trade volumes with most of these countries are low,” noted the study.
The study has also recommended the government to initiate partnerships with African countries in agriculture sector whereby it can benefit from increased output while contributing positively to Africa in terms of technical assistance, skill building, research and development. (KNN Bureau)
“Government of India is now committed to make sure that Africa becomes a close ally of India in terms of shifting the gear of developmental goals in the world,” he said while inaugurating ‘India-Africa Business Champion Awards 2015,’ organised by ASSOCHAM here on Monday, as per an official release.
He said that these goals can be achieved through government to government interaction, private sector participation, joint ventures between government-private players and in many other ways.
“We are looking forward to working with Africa in a very significant way because we feel we share lot of values, lot of concerns and there is a lot of priority as far as development is concerned,” said Prabhu.
He added that both these geographies are really going to be fastest growing economies of the world, India is already the fastest and Africa being at a lower base rate can grow even faster in next few years’ time.
The minister also released an ASSOCHAM-TARI (Thought Arbitrage Research Institute) joint study titled, ‘India-Africa Trade: Continuous sunshine.’
Highlighting that true potential of India-Africa economic alliance is grossly under-utilised, the study has noted that there is huge scope for Indian companies operating in banking, construction and infrastructure, consumer goods, telecom sectors.
“Indian government should immediately engage itself with all trade blocs and associations, including African Union, in the light of formation of Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) and the proposed African Free Trade Zone,” it suggested.
The study added that bilateral arrangements need to be explored for the same objective, wherever possible.
Most African countries present an excellent opportunity for India to export refined petroleum products. Besides South Africa can be a good market for medicine, automobiles and auto components; Namibia for gems and jewellery and floating structures and Nigeria for natural rubber products.
“There is a huge potential for trade with these countries, since the trade volumes with most of these countries are low,” noted the study.
The study has also recommended the government to initiate partnerships with African countries in agriculture sector whereby it can benefit from increased output while contributing positively to Africa in terms of technical assistance, skill building, research and development. (KNN Bureau)
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