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THIRD INDIA-AFRICA FORUM SUMMIT 2015: INDIA-AFRICA FRAMEWORK FOR STRATEGIC COOPERATION

INTRODUCTION

1.       The Heads of State and Government and Heads of Delegation representing the continent of Africa, the African Union (AU) and its Institutions, and the Prime Minister of the Republic of India, met in New Delhi, India on 29 October 2015 for the Third India-Africa Forum Summit;

2.       Reviewing the strategic partnership and the implementation of the Framework of Enhanced Cooperation adopted at the Second Africa-India Forum Summit held in Addis Ababa in May 2011 and the associated Plan of Action agreed upon thereafter;

3.       Noting the synergies of their shared core priorities of working together towards an inclusive economic growth to eradicate poverty and allocate adequate resources for sustainable development, as defined in Africa’s Agenda 2063 and its First Ten Year Implementation Plan as well as the Sustainable Development Goals under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the priorities of the Government of India;

4.       Building on prior positive cooperation in various areas of common interest, agree to enhance their partnership with more substance, based on the aspirations of the African and Indian people to achieve development, integration and prosperity as indicated in the African Union Agenda 2063 and its First Ten Year Implementation Plan as well as the Sustainable Development Goals under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and  the priorities of the  Government of India;

5.       Noting the importance of urgently fulfilling  the  unmet challenges of providing access to quality education, skill development and capacity building, affordable healthcare, clean modern energy sources, infrastructure, suitable employment opportunities through development of all sectors of economy including agriculture, manufacturing and services, value addition and connectivity, climate change adaptation and mitigation, blue and ocean economy, and disaster management and disaster risk reduction among others;

6.       This longstanding and multifaceted Africa-India relationship has fashioned a development partnership based on equality, friendship, mutual benefit and solidarity which represents South-South Cooperation in all its dimensions. This partnership encompasses human resource development through scholarships, training, capacity building, financial assistance through grants and concessional credit to implement various public-interest projects including for education, healthcare and infrastructure, trade preferences, technology collaborations, humanitarian, financial and in kind assistance in emergency situations, deployment of peacekeeping troops, collective negotiations in multilateral fora for common causes and concerns, among others;

7.       Africa and India have adopted this Framework for Strategic Cooperation between them which will comprise the following broad areas:

GENERAL AREAS OF COOPERATION

8.       The common characteristics of the African and Indian societies insofar as being multi-ethnic and multi-religious as well as the similar societal values have quite naturally cemented the bonds of friendship between the African and Indian peoples over the centuries;

9.       Africa and India recognize the crucial need for gender equality for progress and sustainable development and are committed to promote empowerment of women, which will greatly support efforts towards poverty eradication, protect and promote human rights and build more non-violent and environmentally sustainable societies;

10.     The Africa-India Strategic Partnership represents a multi-dimensional South-South cooperation and needs to be strengthened to render it more effective;

11.     In this regard, Africa and India resolve to:

• Facilitate greater mutual understanding of cultures, traditions and heritage and bringing our people closer through exchanges at various levels;
• Promote gender equality and empowerment of women, which will greatly support efforts towards poverty eradication, protect and promote human rights and build more non-violent and environmentally sustainable societies;
• Encourage use of modern social networks to build communities of mutual interest. Linkages between academia, journalists, media entities and civil society will be further encouraged inter-alia through the Forum for Indian Development Cooperation (FIDC) to document successful development interventions by civil society among communities in developing countries;
• Promote good governance through the efficient use of emerging e-governance technologies. The empowering of peoples through enhancement of digital connectivity and access to these technologies that permeate all sectors of economy will help targeting of benefits to the needy, make delivery of services more efficient, catalyse development and increase citizen participation in governance, and promote financial inclusion and empowerment through access to banks, credit and social insurance against diseases and accidents;
• Reaffirm our strong commitment to work together for a comprehensive Reform of the United Nations system, including its Security Council, to make it more regionally representative, democratic, accountable and effective;
• Deepen ongoing cooperation and sharing of experiences in  ensuring free,  fair and transparent parliamentary and electoral processes,  such as training and capacity building in tandem with current international best practices;
• Facilitate air and maritime connectivity and more liberal visa procedures and visa concessions to enhance tourism, trade and other people to people contacts;
• Support African Small Island States tackling the impact of climate change as well as their connectivity with mainland Africa.

ECONOMIC COOPERATION

12.       Africa and India emphasize their commitment to achieve sustainable prosperity and reaffirm their collaboration to promote inclusive and sustainable growth for a decent life for their peoples;

13.     Africa and India acknowledge that expanded trade and economic ties would further contribute to sustainable growth and economic development in both sides and welcome the contribution by India to set up value addition and processing facilities in Africa;

14.     Africa-India trade has multiplied in the last 15 years and doubled in the last five years to reach nearly US$ 72 billion in 2014-2015. There is growing investment by Indian companies, both multinational and SMEs, in Africa in a range of sectors. These include telecommunication, hydrocarbon exploration, agriculture, light manufacturing, IT and IT- enabled services, IT education, water treatment and supply management, petroleum refining and retail, chemicals, drugs & pharmaceuticals, coal, automobiles, floriculture, engineering consultancy and management, paper, textiles, among others. Such investment brings in capital and technology, assists value addition and industrialization, diversification of economic activity and most importantly generates employment and promotes skill development for local populations;

15.       Both sides recognize that India was among the first emerging economies to propose a duty-free market access scheme for LDCs following the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration of 2005. In 2014 India expanded its Duty Free Trade Preference Scheme (DFTP) for LDCs, launched in 2008 and which became fully operational in 2012, to now include 98% of tariff lines. The benefits of this unilateral scheme extend to 34 African countries to increase their exports to India. India took note of the African request to provide technical assistance to the beneficiary countries of the DFTP Scheme in order to further enhance market access of their exports to India;

16.     India takes note of the request by the African side to further expand its Duty Free Tariff Preference Scheme for Least Developed Countries for greater coverage. Efforts should be made to promote private and public investment from Africa into India;

17.     Both sides recognize that the Indian experience in Small, Medium and Micro enterprises offers significant avenues for further cooperation in industrialization, job creation and enhancement of local capacities of Africa, particularly in the field of managing and organizing industrial clusters, and attaching them to the feeding industries;

18.     Africa and India welcome the organization, every year, of the Africa – India Project Partnership Conclave by Export Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII); both sides further recognize the importance of the Africa – India Project Partnership Conclaves as a platform for bringing together Indian and African entrepreneurs and decision makers, and therefore call for its continuation;

19.     One of the most significant forms of Africa-India partnership has been the offer of concessional credit under the Indian Development and Economic Assistance Scheme (IDEAS) for implementing a range of projects as per the economic and social priorities of African countries in areas where Indian companies have relevant expertise. In the last decade, a total of almost US$ 9 billion in concessional credit has been approved for nearly 140 projects in more than 40 African countries. So far nearly 60 projects have been completed across a range of sectors;

20.     Both sides recognize that technology provides solutions to many of our common challenges and therefore there is an imperative need to enhance effective collaboration in appropriate cost effective technologies as well as in emerging and high technology areas;

21.     Energy and Infrastructure form substantial part of the ongoing cooperation between Africa and India. The forms of our ongoing cooperation include training, capacity building, consultancy and project implementation through concessional credit in areas including water supply management, power generation and transmission, road and railway construction and upgradation, hydrocarbon exploration among others;

22.     While underlying the importance of private investment in achieving sustainable and inclusive economic growth, the two sides decide to share experience and knowledge in this regard, and to:

• Embark on sensitization efforts to create greater awareness of India's DFTP scheme among businesses in Africa and appeal for the extension of this duty free preference scheme to all African states;
• Accelerate trade between Africa and India through a coordination mechanism composed of representatives of the Government of India and the African diplomatic Missions represented in India to promote investment from Africa into India and facilitate the setting up of African-owned businesses in India;
• Enhance collaboration in technology transfer and demonstration, training and joint research and development for specific applications;
• Explore possibilities of collaboration and training in utilising space technology for remote sensing and natural resource mapping including for water, agriculture, forest cover, mineral and marine resources, weather forecasting and disaster management and disaster risk reduction including early warning of natural disasters; and of nuclear technology for areas such as medicine, agriculture and hydrology in large installations that will have direct benefit for our peoples.

COOPERATION IN TRADE AND INDUSTRY

23.     The Africa-India partnership is grounded in the core recognition that our peoples are our fundamental resource and that capable and skilled human resources are a foundation for building prosperity for all;

24.     Both sides recognize the importance of developing technological capacities of the peoples towards an enhanced beneficiation and value addition to resources;

25.     Africa and India take note of the importance of the capacity building institutions, which India is in the process of establishing in Africa’s diverse sectors, and recognize that such efforts would greatly assist African industries and service sectors, and in the long run contribute to the growth of the continent;

26.     Both sides underscore the importance of capacity building that supports industrialization and the need for establishing relevant institutions in that regard; 

27.     In this regard Africa and India agreed to:

• Support establishment of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and  Medium and Small Industries (MSIs) in order to promote employment creation and income generation for people of both sides;
• Promote Public-Private Partnership (PPP) by encouraging Indian businesses to set up skills development units in African industrial zones with the aim to train African engineers, technicians, managers and workers as well as by encouraging other experts in areas such as food security and solar energy;
• Review the functional mechanisms of the already established institutions with a view to ensuring that the processes for their establishment, provision of material, human and financial resources and management are clearly understood and supported;
• Create a mechanism to enable women groups to access credit for productive activities and markets for their products;
• Enhance cooperation through training and collective negotiations on global trade issues, including at the WTO to protect and promote the legitimate interests of developing countries, especially the LDCs.

COOPERATION IN AGRICULTURE

28.     Large sections of populations in both Africa and India sustain their livelihoods from agriculture. Improving the productivity of agriculture including crop farming; animal husbandry and water management through sustainable and judicious use of inputs is vital to ensure food and nutritional security and represents a significant challenge and opportunity;

29.     There has been extensive cooperation between the two sides including through sharing of experience, training, capacity building through setting up of institutions, and concessional credit in farming techniques, irrigation, soil quality assessment improvement as well as provision of farm equipment, among others;

30.     Africa  and India fully realize that sectors such as tourism, agriculture, fisheries, forestry and energy production are all sensitive to the adverse impacts of climate change;

31.     In this regard both sides agree to:

•  Further increase cooperation in improving farming techniques through appropriate and affordable technology, organic farming, improving crop varieties, seeds, efficient use of fertilizers and other measures;
• Enhance joint efforts for more effective and efficient management of water resources and improve irrigation techniques through transfer of technology and knowhow;
• Support Africa’s commitment to consign the hand-held hoes to the museum, as it has become a symbol of agricultural backwardness in Africa and oppression of women, who constitute the majority of agricultural workers. India will endeavour to provide tillers, cultivators, harrowers and harvesters at concessional rates and the transfer of such technologies for their production in Africa, in order to empower the African farmers;
• Promote investment in agribusinesses and food processing industry to generate employment and greater revenue;
• Continue to collaborate to ensure that public investment, services, and policies for agriculture give due priority to enabling, supporting and complementing smallholders’ owned investment, with particular attention to women and youth food producers;
• Ensure that Indian agricultural cooperation with African countries give priority to food production and improving levels of nutrition in order to increase  the resilience of local and traditional food systems and biodiversity;
• Encourage all initiatives to diversify their economies to expand climate sensitive sectors and to promote adaptation measures that are capable of increasing resilience within the sector ;
• Enhance cooperation and coordination in finalizing an ambitious and comprehensive climate change agreement during the forthcoming COP 21 negotiations, which will be held in Paris, France.

COOPERATION IN RENEWABLE ENERGY      

32.     Intensify our ongoing cooperation in developing renewable energy generation including solar, wind, hydro, geo-thermal and bio-mass along with building power transmission systems.

COOPERATION IN BLUE /OCEAN ECONOMY

33.     Livelihoods of large sections of our peoples are dependent on Oceans which have emerged as the new frontier for the development of the peoples of Africa and India. The significance of Oceans for global or regional trade and its marine resources as a contributor to the economic prosperity of our people is evident.

34.     In this regard the two sides decide to:

• Put special emphasis on exploring closer collaboration through training, capacity building and joint projects in developing sustainable fisheries, maritime connectivity, managing marine resources, exploring non-marine resources, promoting eco-tourism, developing renewable energy, and disaster risk reduction through modern early warning tools, pollution control and other coastal and ocean studies;
• Pursue cooperation in port operations and marine transport, addressing illegal and unregulated fishing and hydrography surveys.

COOPERATION IN INFRASTRUCTURE

35.     Intensify ongoing cooperation in training, capacity building, consultancy and project implementation through concessional credit in infrastructure areas, including water supply management, maritime connectivity, road and railway construction and upgradation. 

COOPERATION IN EDUCATION AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

36.     Since the Second Africa-India  Forum Summit (2011), over 24,000 scholarships across 300 training courses conducted at 60 training institutions have been utilized by African nationals in areas such as IT, renewable energy, agriculture, marine & aeronautical engineering, marine hydrography, SME entrepreneurship, rural development, parliamentary affairs, logistics and management, climate change adaptation, disaster management, cyber security, forensic sciences, and defence and security, among others;

37.     Both sides recognise the fundamental importance of educational cooperation and skills transfer in enhancing opportunities available to their youth in contributing to economic, scientific, technical, and social development and the need to build further through expansion of training slots in existing and newer areas in line with the opportunities and challenges arising in the African continent in key areas outlined in Agenda 2063;

38.     Both sides understand that the development of Science, Technology, Research and Innovation is a crucial element and an integral part of the process of development;

39.     Both sides emphasize the importance of the early introduction of ICT in educational institutions as a key enabler for capacity building, education, health, industry, poverty eradication and delivery of public services;

40.     Acknowledge the importance of successful implementation of the Pan-African E-Network Project aimed at providing an efficient tool to bridge the digital divide and also offer affordable and easy access to quality education and healthcare to the peoples of Africa;

41.     In this regard Africa and India agree to:

• Continue cooperation in the areas of scientific and technological development as well as in Information and Communication Technology;
• Explore possible joint investments to establish a robust, reliable and accessible fibre optic infrastructure in Africa, with a view to setting an enabled African information society, and integrated digital economy whereby all actors have access to reliable and affordable ICT networks and services;
• Promote greater interaction, exchange and partnership between the tertiary institutions of Africa and India;
• Renew, expand and upgrade the existing Pan African E-Network Project infrastructure so as to permit an innovative utilization of the E-Network Project with the view to cover newer areas of mutual interest;
• Intensify cooperation through sharing of experiences, gender-specific training courses and capacity building measures including through skill development;
• Provide and facilitate the access and enrolment of African students and academicians to India’s premiere institutions of higher learning in an effort to boost Africa’s capacity in areas such as engineering, medical, technology, agriculture as well as emerging areas;
• Fast-track the implementation of those capacity building institutions that have been found to be feasible for continuation under IAFS-III;
• Intensify cooperation in capacity building, joint research and development and implementation of projects in renewable energy sources including solar, wind and hydro power along with building efficient power transmission systems.

COOPERATION IN HEALTH

42.     Africa and India recognize that the promotion of health is critical in the development of human capital, which drives socio-economic growth;

43.     They reaffirm their commitment to enhance collaboration and share experience in the application of advancement in science, technology, research and development to training in the area of HIV, TB,  Malaria, Ebola and Polio;

44.     Both sides recognize the need to improve nutritional and food securities of their peoples and acknowledge the right for adequate food for all and the availability and accessibility of food in quantity and quality sufficient to satisfy the dietary needs of individuals;

45.     In this regard both sides agree to:

• Collaborate in the provision of universal access to primary and public healthcare, to build resilience to fight and prevent deadly epidemics and disease control through implementing educational programme in this field, recommendation of policies, administering services and conducting research;
• Support Africa’s campaign on Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA) and facilitate its implementation through cooperation in training and education for health professionals;
• Ensure access to affordable and quality medicines and treatment, particularly generic medicines; 
• In this regard both sides acknowledge the importance of full use of the flexibilities provided by the agreement on trade related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) administered by the  World Trade Organization (WTO);
• Train doctors and healthcare personnel, including through the deployment of telecoms and ICTs in support of tele-medicine  and e-health applications;
• Strengthen public-private sector collaboration in the areas of pharmaceutical and procurement in Africa and India in the framework of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan for Africa and the fight against counterfeit medicines;
• Continue their dialogue on intellectual property rights, regulatory procedures and access to medicines and research and development in traditional medicine;
• Sharing of experiences, specialized expertise and best practices in health care systems development and community health programmes;
• Exchanges regarding food production to always meet dietary need and quality standards.

COOPERATION IN PEACE AND SECURITY

46.     Africa and India recognize the importance of peace, security and stability as a precondition for development;

47.     Africa appreciates commitment of India towards supporting various African Union Missions such as those in Mali and in Somalia;

48.     In this regard, Africa and India decide to:

• Support AU Peace and Security initiative within the African Peace and Security Architecture;
• Support programmes on conflict prevention, management and resolution;
• Pursue cooperation on Maritime security issues through training, capacity building, sharing of information, surveillance and other measures in securing Sea Lines of Communication, preventing transnational crimes of piracy, combating terrorism, illegal and unregulated fishing, trafficking of drugs, arms and humans through surveillance, and hydrography surveys;
• Enhance cooperation and coordination between Africa and India to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including countering violent extremism and, in this regard, make concerted efforts for the early adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism;
• Share best practices and experiences in cyber security especially in combating cyber crime and use of internet for terrorist purposes.

REGIONAL AND OTHER FORMS OF COOPERATION

49.     Appreciate the ongoing fruitful cooperation between the AU/RECs and India;

50.     Take note with appreciation of the third meeting between India and the eight Regional Economic Communities (RECs) of Africa held in New Delhi in August 2014. The RECs have worked towards harmonization of standards and rules as well as towards creation of common markets and this has an important bearing on the development of India’s trade and investment with African countries.

51.     In this regard:

• India, the African Union and RECs will enhance the ongoing cooperation in the areas of capacity building, human resource development, food and agriculture processing and soft loans for regional projects among others.

MONITORING MECHANISM

52.     Agree to establish a regular formal monitoring mechanism to review the implementation of the agreed areas of cooperation and identified projects by the competent bodies of the partnership.  Modalities of the monitoring mechanism and the detailed Plan of Action will be jointly developed within three months.  

 

New Delhi, 29 October 2015