The following speech was given by Ambassador Rajiv Bhatia at the 13 th Africa Conclave: Regional Session on East and Southern Africa on 27 March, 2018.
Excellencies and friends, it is a privilege to chair this session. I thank the hosts for this opportunity.
We could not have asked for a richer panel! Our distinguished panelists include key political members of five African governments i.e. South Sudan, Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya and Lesotho. In addition, we have a ranking business leader representing a big name in India Inc, Mahindra and Mahindra.
Eastern and Southern Africa have a special place in India’s multi-dimensional engagement with the African continent. Historically, this combined region has been among the areas of Africa with which the engagement began first – long before the western and Asian powers even discovered Africa. Trade and cultural exchanges, reinforced by interactions at the peoples level, brought India and this part of Africa closer together.
Hence, if we are resolved to deepen India-Africa ties, we must begin seriously by reviewing what precisely the opportunities and challenges we have in east and southern Africa, in this second decade of the 21st century.
Several trends are visible today. The region is committed to securing real progress towards integration. Look at what is happening in Regional Economic Communities, namely EAC, COMESA, IGAD and SADC and, now most importantly, in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the agreement for which was signed by 44 countries in Kigali on 21 March 2018.
Broadly speaking, democratisation and acceleration of economic growth are other discernible tendencies that we in India welcome. On the list of Africa’s fastest growing economies, several belonging to the region figure. And it is good to remember that among the ten fastest growing economies of the world, seven belong to Africa.
The fact that this region is deeply interested in what is happening in India is evident from a striking feature of the conclave itself: the three Guests of Honour who spoke at the inaugural session on 25 March were all leaders from this region i.e. Vice President of Malawi, of Uganda, and of Zimbabwe.
Now, just a word about India Inc’s perspective. It faces multiple challenges in expanding its footprint interest he region. May I make a brief mention of two specific issues. First, India’s ‘investment-led trade approach’ could be mutually beneficial, but for this we need to identify and remove bottlenecks to Indian investments. Second, in this age of focus on ‘Trilateral relationships’, there is immense potential for complementing Indian engineering and management expertise as well as knowledge and experience of the African market with financial resources and high-end technology from third countries such as Japan, Singapore and UAE.
Clearly, this panel is in the ideal position to address the seminal question that is uppermost in our mind: what can and should be done to unleash a process that results in increased bilateral trade, two-way flow of investments, faster and better use of the Lines of Credit offered by India, a wider exchange of triple A technology (appropriate, affordable and adaptable), and expansion of tourism? What is holding us back? How can we counter it and prevail?
I am conscious that it is a tall order – to answer this question and touch the related issues in about seven minutes, but I am confident that the panel will stand up to the challenge splendidly, leaving enough time for a meaningful interaction with you all.
May I now invite Hon. Justice Yien Oral Lam, Minister of Higher Education, Science & Technology, South Sudan to address you.
Rajiv Bhatia is Distinguished Fellow, Gateway House. A former ambassador to Myanmar, he writes regularly on East Asian developments
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