By IANS,
New Delhi : Enhancing economic ties will be on top of the agenda when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh makes bilateral visits to Ethiopia and Tanzania next week.
The prime minister will begin his two-nation Africa tour May 23 in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, where he will first participate in the second India-Africa summit.
The bilateral aspect of the visit will be on May 25-26, during which Singh will hold discussions with his Ethiopian counterpart Meles Zenawi. He will also address Ethiopian parliament. This will be first ever visit to Ethiopia by an Indian head of government.
Then, May 26-28, he will be in the East African nation of Tanzania, where he will be the first non-African head of government to visit after the assumption of second term of President Jakaya Kikwete.
This is also the first Indian high-level visit since September 1997.
In both these countries, India has significant investments, with about $4.5 billion in Ethiopia and another $1.3 billion in Tanzania.
“India is a partner in Ethiopia’s development process and has extended lines of credit amounting to around US$ 700 million. A large part of this credit is committed to the development of the sugar industry in Ethiopia,” said Vivek Katju, Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs.
An Indian-Ethiopian agreement on avoidance of double taxation is also expected to be signed during the visit.
In Tanzania, India with its investment of $1.3 billion is the second largest investor, which is calculated to have created employment opportunities for 32,000 people.
Incidentally, Tanzania was the co-chair of the first India-Africa Forum summit in Delhi.
“The two countries were active participants in developing the process of South-South Cooperation for the benefit of the developing world. India and Tanzania are now engaged in actively pursuing a mutually beneficial commercial and economic partnership, as part of a wide ranging relationship,” said Katju.
In their discussions, Singh and Kikwete will explore ways of taking their relationship forward. “There will also be a focus on the two countries’ partnership in the development process in Tanzania through education, capacity building and infrastructure development,” said the senior Indian diplomat.