India’s African Engagement

The April 2008 India-Africa Forum Summit not only marked the zenith of India-African cooperation following intensified cultural, political and economic interactions between India and African countries, but also the increased competition with China over access to Africa’s resources and markets. The author reviews India’s development cooperation with African economies.

The exceptionally fast growth of big economies like China and India has resulted in a new-found interest in the economic and political consequences of this growth for the developed economies. Recently, traditional donors’ concern that ‘emerging’ donors were re-emerging on the development scene was addressed. This kicked off a quest among donor agencies, think tanks and researchers alike to identify and establish the doings of these ‘emerging’ donors. To date, however, China has received most attention while the doings of other donors like India, Brazil and South Africa have remained virtually invisible. This ARI describes India’s current engagement in Africa and analyses the reasons why India once again puts Africa high on its political agenda. It argues that the development cooperation and in particular the 2008 India-Africa summit is a way to brand India anew.