By IANS,
New Delhi : An African delegation, led by the Ugandan commissioner of external trade, is visiting the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) here to discuss measures for setting up a similar institution in Africa.
“Tremendous opportunities exist for cooperation in the field of capacity building and imparting professional knowledge between the institute and the African countries,” IIFT director K.T. Chacko said.
“This step will only accelerate institute’s efforts in internationalising its reach and imparting knowledge beyond borders, especially in Africa,” he added.
The delegation, whose three-day visit started Tuesday, is led by Ugandan Commissioner of External Trade Silver Ojakol.
Following the first India-Africa summit in 2008 and a series of discussions between African Union (AU) and Indian government, a basic modality to start the work of setting up of an India Africa Institute of Foreign Trade (IAIFT) in Africa was agreed upon.
AU had identified Uganda as the country for setting up IAIFT. Later, the Uganda Management Institute (UMI) at Kampala was identified as the host institute and IIFT as the nodal organisation for setting up the IAIFT.
During the second summit, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced $5 billion in lines of credit for the next three years to help Africa achieve its development goals.
He also offered an additional $700 million to establish new institutions and training programmes in consultation with the African Union and its institutions.