By IANS,
New Delhi : Two years after their first summit, India and Africa Wednesday launched an action plan that includes closer cooperation in agriculture and setting up of new training institutes by New Delhi in areas ranging from foreign trade to education and IT.
The plan was launched at a formal ceremony attended by the 15-member delegation of the African Union Commission and a 42-member Indian team representing the external affairs ministry and industry bodies.
The plan, which will implement key decisions of the first India-Africa Forum Summit held in New Delhi in 2008, outlines a detailed strategy for accelerating bilateral engagement for the next four years.
The plan will impart greater vigour and momentum to India’s engagement with Africa, said Vivek Katju, secretary in the external affairs ministry.
“It’s a partnership based on concrete development projects. Africa welcomes this partnership and is ready to play its role,” said Jacques-Alfred Ndoumbe-Eboule, Cameroon’s permanent representative to the 53-nation African Union and chairman of its multilateral affairs sub-committee.
“It’s a blueprint for partnership to promote sustainable development. We hope the action plan will create better market access for African products,” said John Kayode Shinkaiye, chief of staff at the African Union Commission, headquartered in Addis Ababa.
Closer cooperation in agriculture and food security tops the action plan. India will provide 25 PhD and 50 Masters scholarships annually for four years to African students in Indian universities and institutions to enhance agricultural education, science and research.
With both sides determined to scale up their bilateral trade to $70 billion by 2015, India will establish an India-Africa Institute of Foreign Trade that will provide professional education in the field of international trade and management, including studies on the public and private sectors in Africa.
The action plan focuses on development-centric partnership between India and Africa. It includes setting up a slew of training institutes by India in areas of diamond polishing, IT, vocational education and Pan-African Stock Exchange.