10/20/2015

thehinduarticleswithvocab:Reversingthecontinentaldrift

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Tuesday,October13,2015

Reversingthecontinentaldrift
Geologically,eons(
)ago,peninsular()IndiawasoncepartofAfrica,the
fused[fyoozd(United,
)]SuperContinentcalledGondwanaland.Some200million

yearsagowhenthecontinentaldriftstarted,theregionbrokeawayfromtheAfricancontinent
andpushedinanortheasterlydirectiontillitjoinedSouthAsia.
MaheshSachdev
Intheeconomicdomain,too,tillrecentlytherehadbeenasimilarsenseofdriftbetweenIndia
andAfrica.Thetwosideswereonlypartiallyabletoleveragetheirsocioeconomicsimilarities
(suchasacolonialhistory,similardevelopmentalprofileandchallenges)and
complementarities(suchasIndiasgrowingneedforAfricascommoditiesandthesuitabilityof
IndiantechnologyandspiritofjugaadforAfrica).Moreoftenthannot,itwaslefttoprivate
operators,marketforcesandmiddlemen.Asaresulttherewasasteadybutslowgrowthinour
tieswithAfrica,oftencalledtheonlyremainingeconomicEldoradoforitsfastgrowing
population,increasingprosperity,anditsuntappedmineralandagriculturalwealth.
Thus,theIndiaAfricaForumSummit(IAFS)processthatbeganin2008isamuch
neededintergovernmentalattempttogiveadirectionandthrusttothebilateralsynergy.After
twosummitsinNewDelhi(2008)andAddisAbaba(2011),thenextsummitistotakeplace
towardstheendofthismonthonceagaininNewDelhi.Thistimeheadsofstatesand
governmentsofallAfricancountrieshavebeeninvitedandover35ofthemarelikelytoattend.
AnumberofnewIndianinitiativesarelikelytobeannouncedduringIAFS3toboostties.
Resourcescommitted
AsweapproachIAFS3,itisnecessarytoassesstheimpactofoversevenyearsoftheIAFS
processandmakeitmoreeffectiveandpurposive.Overthisperiod,Indiahascommitted
unprecedented[n'presi,dentid(new,
]levelofresourcestoAfrica:forinstance,

)x
atIAFS2Indiapromised$5billiondollarsinsoftloans,halfabilliondollarsingrants,
institutionbuildingandtrainingfellowshipstoAfrica.EarlieratIAFS1,Indiahadofferedduty
freemarketaccesstoAfricasleastdevelopedcountries.Injectionoftheseresourceshashad
considerableimpact.IndiascredentialsasauniquelysuitabledevelopmentpartnerforAfrica
havebeenwidelyacknowledged.Therehasbeenawelcomesurge[surj(riserapidly,

)]inpeopletopeoplecontactsaslargenumbersofAfricanentrepreneurs,medical
tourists,traineesandstudentshavestartedcomingtoIndiaandIndianexpertsand
entrepreneurshaveheadedthere.Similarly,theIAFSprocesshasgivenafillip[fi
lip(encouragement,)]toculturalandinformationalcontactsandmutualawareness.
ThegrowthinIndiastradeandinvestmentactivitieswithAfricahasbeenpartiallyaffectedby
theglobaleconomicslowdown.Thoughtheactualdeliveryofprojectsandinstitutionshas
improved,itisstillnotcommensuratewiththehigherresourcesexpended.
TheIAFSneedstobetterleveragetwostrongandasyetuntappedassets:thevibrantIndian
privatesectorandtheIndiandiasporainAfrica.
Beforeweproceedfurther,afewofthecontextualfactorsmustbementioned.First,Indiaisnot
aloneinhavinganAfricastrategy.Ourcompetitorsonthecontinent,suchtheEuropeanUnion,
China,JapanandtheU.S.alsohaveIAFStypeprocessesandoftencommitevenmore
resourcesthanwedo.Second,inrecentyears,newdriversoftheputative[pyootu
tiv(acknowledged,)]Africancenturyhaveemergedtheseincludelowercommodity
prices,greaterdemocracy,riseinmilitancy,populationgrowth,preponderance[pri'pndu
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thehinduarticleswithvocab:Reversingthecontinentaldrift

run(t)s(powerful,)]ofyouthandurbanisation.Lastbutnottheleast,althoughAfrica
haslostsomeofitseconomicattractiveness,thelongtermimportanceofthecontinentis
undimmed.
Visibleengagement
HowcanthemomentumachievedsofarbytheIAFSprocessbesustainedorevenaccelerated?
First,weneedtoinjectgreaterbilateralismandbalanceintotheprocess.TheAfricannations,
manyofthemwithhigherpercapitaincomethanIndia,expectIndiatobeargiftsforthem
undertheIAFSprocess.Buttheyalsoneedtocontributemore,sothatthejoint
endeavour[in'devu(effort,)]ismoreproductivefortheirownpeople.Thisisalso
becauseIndiadoesnothaveamercantilistapproachtogetbackitsdevelopmentalassistancein
otherways.Similarly,Indiashouldnotabrogate[abru,geyt(cancel,)]itsresponsibility
formidstreamanddownstreamdeliverytotheAfricanCommissionbureaucracy.Thishas
oftencausedconfusionanddismay[dis'mey(despair,)]amongbilaterallyimportant
countriessuchasNigeriaforbeingneglected.IthasalsodeprivedourdiplomatsinAfricaa
valuablecardtopromoteourbilateralagenda.(Duringthewriter'stenure[ten
yu(period,)]inAfrica,itwasoftennecessarytomentionthattheprojectwas
implementedandfinancedbyIndia,andnotbytheAfricanUnion!)
Second,theIAFSprocessneedstobetterleveragetwostrongassetsthathavehitherto[hi
dhu'too(tillnow,)]remaineduntapped:thevibrantIndianprivatesectorandthe
IndiandiasporainAfrica.Third,alotcanbedonetoimprovethelastmileofthedeliverychain
toensureefficacy.Forinstance,the$150millionPanAfricaeNetworkprojecthasoften
receivedonlylimitedinterestbecausetheactualprovidershadnopersonalincentive.Fourth,
Indianeedstomakemorevigorous[vigurus(energetic,)]effortstoinformits
Africanfriendsaboutitscontributions.
Lastyear,whentheEbolaepidemicravaged[ravijd(robbed,
)]fiveWestAfrican
countries,Indiarendered[rendu(give,
)]moreassistancethanmanyotherdonors.
However,whiletheircontributionswereacknowledgedandappreciated,Indianhelpreceived
scant[skant(insufficient,x
)]attentionandpublicity,partlybecauseIndiadeliveredit
multilaterallyorinapiecemealmanner.Abetterorganised,morecoherent[kow'heer
unt(logical,
)]andfasterrespondingmechanismaccompaniedbyanappropriatemedia

campaignisdesirable.Tothisend,havingadedicated,commerciallydrivenIndiantelevision
channelforAfricancountriesmaybeagoodbeginning.
TheIAFSprocesshasshownthepromiseofIndoAfricanpartnership.Indeed,thecurrent
globaleconomicstagnationonlyenhancestherelevanceofamutualinterfacebetweenthe
worldsfastestgrowingcontinentandtheworldsfastestgrowingmajoreconomy.
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