42018

14th CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India-Africa Project

India in AfricaThe 14th CII-EXIM Bank Conclave

on India-Africa ProjectPartnerships concluded in NewDelhi, India. The three-day conclavewas organised by the Ministry ofCommerce in association withConfederation of Indian Industryand EXIM Bank of India.

Addressing the valedictorysession, Commerce Secretary, AnupWadhawan said that trade tieswithAfrican countrieshave strengthenedover the years and the relationshiphas been mutually beneficial. Hesaid this conclave marks the pre-eminenceof India-Africapartnershipin the realm of South-SouthCooperation at a time when theglobal economy is faced withintractable challenges that stemfrom rising protectionismand tradeconflicts.

The India-Africa bilateralpartnership is further augmentedbyIndia�s ascendency as the growingmajor economy, as well as Africa�sneweconomicdynamism illustratedby some of the sub-Saharaneconomies featuring among the top10 fastest growing economies in theworld.

The Commerce Secretary saidthat the conclave coheres into theIndian government�s larger vision oflong-term engagement with Africaand Government of India�sunwavering commitment toexpanding the canvas of India-Africaeconomic partnership. He saidseveral Indian engineeringcompanies have been engaged inbridging the gaps in physicalinfrastructure in Africa by way ofdevelopment of roads, highways,ports, power generation anddistribution andwatershed projects

* This news item has been published in Orissa Diary on March 20, 2019

that connected different Africancountries.

India�s development cooperationranges from power projects anddams in SudanandRwanda towatertreatment plants in Tanzania, sugarfactories in Ethiopia and IT Parks inMozambique and Swaziland,building of the Presidential Place inGhana and National Assemblybuilding in the Gambia, besidesother numerous projects.

Wadhawan informed that aspartof India�s outreach inAfrica,Ministryof ExternalAffairs, onSeptember10,2018 signed an agreementwith theTelecommunications ConsultantsIndia Limited (TCIL) to establish apan-Africa e-Arogya Bharti NetworkProject to serve as a digital bridgebetween India and Africa shrinkingthe distance between India andAfrica evenmore. This project is alsodesigned to aid Africa�s journeytowards achieving Sustainable

Development Goals (SDGs) targetsin education and the health sectorand enrich the lives of itspredominantly young population.

TheConclaveheldannually, sinceits inception in 2005, brings seniorMinisters, policymakers, officials,business leaders, bankers,technologists, start-upentrepreneursand other professionals from Indiaand Africa on a common platform.Theevent alsomarks thedeepeningof India-Africa economic andbusiness ties and paves theway fora whole range of cross-borderproject partnerships.

Over 500 delegates from Africaparticipated in the Conclave. VicePresident of Republic of Ghana,Mahamudu Bawumia; PrimeMinister of Republic of Guinea,Ibrahima Kassory Fofana andDeputy PrimeMinister of Kingdomof Lesotho Monyane Moleleki alsoparticipated in the Conclave.

The Conclave marks the pre-eminence of India-Africapartnership in the realm of South-South Cooperation at a timewhen the global economy is faced with intractable challengesthat stem from rising protectionism and trade conflicts.

India in Africa: Published by CUTS International, Head office: D-217, Bhaskar Marg, Bani Park, Jaipur 302016, IndiaPh: 91.141.2282821, Fax: 91.141.2282485, E-mail: cuts@cuts.org, Web Site: www.cuts-international.org

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India-Uganda TradeThe IndianHighCommissioner to

Uganda Ravi Shankar has askedUgandans to exploit opportunitiesavailable in India for Uganda�sproducts.

He noted that Uganda hasmorecomparative advantage to dobusiness with India as compared toother countries in the regionbecause of the favourableenvironment between the twostates.

To ensure that Uganda productshave access to the India�s market,the Commissioner noted that Indiahas softened theprocessof applyingfor visas to India, especially for thebusiness communities.

(BW, 28.04.19)

Marketing Kenyan TourismKenya has set its sights on India

as it seeks to grow tourist arrivals to2.5million by 2022. Several Kenyantravel trade partners pitched tentfor three days in Mumbai, India towoo travellers to Kenya at theOutbound Travel Mart.

KTBChief Executive Betty Radiersaid India remains a crucial marketthrough which Kenya can continueto grow its tourism arrival figuresthat closed at 125,032 in 2018, a6.17 percent growth compared to2017.

India is among Kenya�s top fiveAsian tourists� source markets andis considered the fastest growingoutbound tourism travel markets,accounting for 50million outboundtourists by 2020. (DN, 09.01.19)

Training Zambian JournalistsThe Indian government has

launched a programme that seeksto train Zambian journalists inconvergent journalism. So far, ajournalist from Zambia News andInformation Services, MikeMunkombwe, is already in India fortraining at the Indian Institute ofMass Communication while DailyMail�s Nancy Siame joined inMarch

2019, both fully sponsored by theGovernment of India.

�India has opened up moreopportunities forZambian journaliststoappreciateall spheresof theAsiansub-continent,� Zambia�s HighCommissioner to India JudithKapijimpanga said. (ZR, 22.02.19)

Exim Bank Extols ZambiaEXIM Bank Managing Director

David Rasquinha said that Zambia isamong the best countries to dobusiness with, in Africa. EXIM Bankhas funded infrastructureprojects inZambia such as theDecongestion ofLusakaRoadsprojectwhich is takingshape.

He was speaking when headdressed Africa Day in Gujarat,India, Summit which has attractedcabinet ministers, diplomats andbusiness executives fromAfrica.

Rasquinhahas sinceurged Indianinvestors seeking to invest in Africato consider his Bank for financialassistance to fundprojectsespeciallyinfrastructure development.

(ZNBC, 20.01.19)

Eco-friendly Vehicles for ZambiaAn Indian firm that specialises in

manufacturing electricmotor threewheelersonexpressed itswillingnessto introduce the eco-friendlyvehicles to the Zambian market.

Rajiv Kapoor,ManagingDirectorof the Rasandik EngineeringIndustries, said his company hassince decided with effect from thisyear to start taking part in Zambia�sinvestment expos and commercialshows as part of efforts to enter themarket.

During his conversation withstaff from the Zambia Embassy inNew Delhi who toured themanufacturing plant in India�snorthern state of Uttar Pradesh,Kapoor asked Zambia to considerthe promotion of the use of eco-friendly transportation systemsamong its citizens.

(Xinhuanet, 08.02.19)

More FDIs from India

India will invest in Kenya�sagriculture and manufacturing

sectors in linewith thegovernment�sBig Four Agenda.

In 2018, China remained Kenya�slargest source of imports formachinery and transportequipment, accounting forSh291.8bn followed by India atSh161.2bn, Saudi Arabia(Sh138.4bn) and the United ArabEmirates (Sh126bn).

However, India continues tooutperform China in terms of thenumberof jobs createdby its foreigndirect investment (FDI).

(ST, 27.03.19)

Source: BW: BusiWeek; DN: Daily Nation; LT: Lusaka Times; ST: Straits Times;ZNBC: Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation; ZR: Zambia Reports

India-ZambiaEnergyPartnershipAn Indian company which

manufactures energy efficient andsolar equipment, Switcher India LLP,hasannounced intentions topartnerwith a credible Zambian companyin its expansion programme.

Switcher India LLPBusinessHeadKapil Sobti said his company whichhas over five thousand Indian localdistributors has been convinced byZambia�s High Commissioner toIndia Judith Kapijimpanga toconsider Zambia as the bestdestination for investment.

Sobti said that the company hasmore women in themanufacturingchain in line with Indian PrimeMinister Narendra Modi�s womenempowerment agenda.

(LT, 30.01.19)