What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on Wednesday reiterated India’s traditional position that Africa must have a representation at the United Nations Security Council.
Speaking on India’s ties with Africa at an event at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) in New Delhi, Dr Jaishankar said, “When it comes to political issues, we share the frustration of international organizations being unrepresentative of contemporary reality. That this has made them increasingly ineffective is of little consolation.”
India has been backing the African stand that calls for at least two permanent and five to two non-permanent UNSC seats to be given to African nations. India has been calling for reform of the UNSC for better representation of the modern world.
“India believes Africa must have an adequate presence and voice in global decision-making, including in the reformed UN Security Council,” he added.
In the domain of maritime security cooperation, India has extended its ties to the coastal African nations of Mauritius and Seychelles.
“Our growing maritime security cooperation is centred around Mauritius and Seychelles but now extended to coastal African nations,” Dr Jaishankar said.
India and African nations in the coastal region have been closely working on anti-piracy, anti-narcotics and anti-terrorism. Dr Jaishankar said Defence Expo India 2020 institutionalized defence cooperation between India and Africa. He also said that the second edition of the Defence Expo will take place soon.
In recent times, India has put its focus on Africa and engaging the nations of the continent with regular high-level visits. Since 2014, 34 high-level visits, Presidential, Vice-Presidential and Prime Ministerial, from India had occurred while 100 high-level visits from Africa took place.
“Development, partnership and capacity building is the core of our relations,” Dr Jaishankar remarked while speaking on bilateral relations.
Jaishankar said India was involved in the establishment of defence institutions in Nigeria, Ethiopia and Tanzania. India has military training cooperation with countries like Botswana, Zambia, Uganda, Tanzania, and Seychelles.
Dr Jaishankar also said that at a time when the supply chain crisis has crippled the world, India and Africa can mitigate the supply chain challenges.
“India and Africa can come together to build a reliable and resilient supply chain,” Dr Jaishankar said.
EAM Jaishankar spoke about India’s outreach initiatives across several African nations.
“189 projects in Africa completed. Out of them 76 at the execution state and 68 in pre-execution,” EAM said. “18 new missions have opened since 2018, taking the total missions in the continent to 49,” he added.
India Africa forum summit was elevated through an expanded format in 2015 that saw the presence of all African states on stage. Around 4483 Indian personnel are actively engaged in 12 peacekeeping missions in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Morocco, Sudan, South Sudan and Somalia, EAM Dr Jaishankar stated. India has also extended Lines of Credit worth USD12 billion to 41 countries in Africa.
In the African continent, Indian private companies have a significant presence. Speaking on diaspora, Dr Jaishankar said, “The diaspora is estimated to be little more than 3 billion spread across 46 countries. South Africa, Mauritius, Kenya, Uganda and Malawi have significant Indian populations. India has also initiated an E-visa process to 33 African countries.”
