Excellencies,
Honourable guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am truly delighted to join you all here today to celebrate Africa Day. Our relationship, our connect, our empathy is truly special. Many of you would be aware of the deeply held view in this country that our independence would not be complete until Africa secured hers.
2. Today, that logic extends to development, to prosperity and to progress as well. When we speak of food, health and energy security, it is not just a concern about our national prospects. It is equally about the challenges that Africa faces and the solutions that could emerge from international partnerships. The Covid experience was deeply scarring for all of us; but most of all for Africa. The vaccine apartheid was accentuated by travel restrictions and followed by financial decisions which hurt the continent very deeply. Assessing the dismal state of progress on realizing SDGs, the picture is most difficult when it comes to Africa. So these are indeed difficult times and challenging circumstances, but all the more reason for India and Africa to stand together firm and fast. I am sometimes asked the question about the Global South, of which we – India and Africa - are two key segments. My reply has always been that those who raise queries about the Global South will never understand it, and those who get it will never raise questions. So, Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen, let me underline that today is an occasion for us to express our solidarity, our friendship, our partnership with Africa. India has always been and will always be with Africa.
3. Having said that, I must also fully recognize the profound transformations underway – economic, social and political, as Africa steadily emerges as the continent of the future. We have the fullest confidence that the nations of Africa will overcome every obstacle and realize their destiny. As they do so, it is imperative that along with their freedom, they are also given their due and rightful place in international platforms. In keeping with its longstanding espousal of the African cause, it was natural that India in its G20 Presidency pushed for African Union’s full membership of the G20. The same spirit guides our approach to the reform of the United Nations, especially the Security Council. We believe that Africa should be represented in line with the Ezulweni consensus and the Sirte Declaration. We also affirm our commitment in advancing Africa Development Framework Agenda 2063 aimed to provide a better, secure & sustainable future for the people of Africa.
Friends,
4. Our engagement has been guided by the 10 principles enunciated by Prime Minister Modi, which reaffirm that Africa’s goals and agenda are India’s priority. Unlike extractive models of engagement, India believes in an inclusive, demand-driven development cooperation, by way of building local capacity and creating local opportunities, ensuring that African countries not only benefit from investments but also develop self-sustaining growth ecosystems.
5. India is committed to the overall development of Africa by keeping our markets open; sharing our experiences with the digital revolution to support Africa’s development; improving delivery of public services; spreading education & digital literacy in Africa; strengthening African agriculture; and working with African nations to keep the oceans open and free for the benefit of all nations. Demonstrating our commitment to Africa, we have expanded our diplomatic foot-print in recent years with opening of 17 new diplomatic Missions bringing the total number of Indian Missions in the Continent to 46.
6. Friends, In the spirit of ‘Vasudaiva Kutumbakam’ (The World is a family) India has placed development cooperation and capacity-building programmes at the core of its partnership. India has also been at the forefront in offering training to African candidates under its flagship ITEC programme. Over 37,000 Africans have been trained in India under the ITEC/ICCR scholarships in the last 10 years. The Indian Institute of Technology in Zanzibar (Tanzania), the National Forensic Science University in Uganda, the Entrepreneurship Development Centre in Rwanda, and various Centres of Information Technology in several countries testify to our commitment to advancing education in African countries.
7. India also remains steadfast in its commitment to develop Africa’s connectivity and infrastructure. Spread over 200 projects across the continent in areas spanning railways, power generation and agriculture, as well as water supply, our initiatives aim to develop self-sustaining growth in Africa. In the last decade, we have extended more than USD 700mn grant assistance to African countries which include cancer therapy machines like ‘Bhabhatron’, medical equipment and medicines including during the COVID through our ‘Vaccine Maitri’ program, Ambulances and indigenously made low-cost artificial limbs called ‘Jaipur Foot’, and which have actually benefitted more than 13,000 patients in 21 African countries as well as food grains to combat drought like situations.
Excellencies, Distinguished guests,
8. Today, India is Africa’s fourth-largest trading partner, with bilateral trade of nearly a US$ 100 billion. Indian companies have made substantial investments, nearly US$ 75 billion across the continent, in areas like pharmaceuticals, IT, automobiles, banking, and mining. India looks forward to the possibilities that Africa’s CFTA could open up for a deeper economic integration of Africa with global value chains. We are the first developing country to provide non-reciprocal duty-free access to the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) since 2008 under its duty-free tariff preference (DFTP) scheme.
9. At the same time, our Security cooperation is driven by the principles of free and open Sea Lanes of Communication, of zero tolerance for terrorism, of peace building in Africa and of creation of local capacity. India has been strengthening its partnership in multiple vectors. Recent transitions from SAGAR to MAHASAGAR, the launch of AIKEYME 2025, and our growing cooperation in anti-piracy as well as search and rescue, and HADR operations – these are all a testament to our global commitment to peace and a stable Indian Ocean region which is so important for Africa.
10. As I noted earlier, India strongly advocates a greater voice for Africa in global institutions and indeed, in global discourse. Driven by the spirit of South-South cooperation, we encourage participation of African Nations in the International Solar Alliance (ISA), in the Global Biofuel Alliance, in the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and in the International Big Cat Alliance.
11. As a technology partner, India stands ready to share its own experiences of digital governance and ‘India Stack’. Our close collaboration with many African nations has already started yielding results and the launch of UPIs and digital national IDs enabling digital payments and greater financial inclusion are proof of this. Space based technology solutions in weather forecasting, Early Warning Systems, resource management, precision agriculture – these are all examples of how we can collaborate to accelerate realisation of sustainable development goals. The success of initiatives like PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan and Bhuvan geo-portal are also examples of what India and Africa can do between them. In the recently adopted ‘Waves’ Summit declaration, which happened earlier this month in Mumbai, India is committed to partnering with African Nations to harness the power of their youth and media for creating a mutually beneficial creative economy.
12. Friends, the 3.5 million strong Indian diaspora in Africa has played a vital role as a living bridge between our two shores. We have extended e-tourist visa facilities to 33 African nations and improved direct air connectivity to promote Trade, Technology and Tourism.
13. I believe that India and Africa must engage and work closely together. In this regard, as Excellency Dean, you also mentioned, we look forward to organising the India Africa Summit - IV. We hope that the event would provide a more contemporary agenda of cooperation aimed at realising Africa’s priorities.
14. Africa Day 2025 is being marked with the theme of "Justice for Africans and people of African descent through reparations”. We in India can fully empathize with Africa’s pain, having been subjected to loot, pillaging and slavery ourselves by colonial powers. While nations of the world have regained their freedom, the legacy of the past remains strong in the global order. The inequities of the past are extrapolated into the unfairness of the present and the uncertainty of the future. The world has seen progress towards political reordering, but the economic, social and cultural dimensions are far from being addressed. There has to be credible accounting of the past if the world is really prepared to move on.
15. Friends, let me conclude with a quote from Prime Minister Modi, words that he said in Africa seven years ago. He said: "If this is to be a century of nations, rising together in freedom and equality; if this is to be an age when the light of opportunities dawns on all humans; if this is a time when our planet has a more hopeful future; then all of this magnificent continent of Africa must walk in step with the rest of the world. India will work with you and for you.”
I thank you.
New Delhi
May 28, 2025