India, Africa powerful force for global progress: Jaishankar
At an Africa Day event in New Delhi, the Ministry of External Affairs reaffirmed that India and Africa together represent a "powerful force for global progress"
Africa was described as a strategic priority for India's foreign policy, with the statement that a multipolar world order and reformed multilateralism can only be achieved once the continent is "given its due place"
India's diplomatic footprint in Africa was highlighted — 17 new missions opened in recent years, expanding India's resident presence to 46 African nations
Cooperation was reaffirmed across defence, maritime security, and trade, alongside a continued commitment to the India-Africa Forum Summit process
India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS)
The India-Africa Forum Summit is the principal institutional platform for India's structured engagement with the African Union and African states, conducted at the highest political level roughly once every few years.
Key Details
- IAFS-I (2008), New Delhi: launched the India-Africa strategic partnership framework; adopted the Delhi Declaration and the India-Africa Framework for Cooperation
- IAFS-II (2011), Addis Ababa: expanded cooperation into trade, infrastructure, human resource development, agriculture, and peace and security
- IAFS-III (2015), New Delhi, under the theme "Partners in Progress: Towards a Dynamic and Transformative Development Agenda": the largest edition, with all African countries having diplomatic relations with India participating
- A further IAFS edition has been planned for 2026, continuing the roughly-decade gap since IAFS-III
The reaffirmation of India-Africa ties at the Africa Day event builds on the IAFS institutional framework, signalling continuity of the summit process as the primary vehicle for India's Africa engagement.
India-Africa Trade and Investment
India-Africa economic ties have grown substantially over the past two decades, with trade now placing India among the continent's top trading partners alongside the European Union and China.
Key Details
- India-Africa bilateral trade crossed $100 billion in FY 2024-25, nearly doubling from about $56 billion in FY 2019-20
- India is Africa's third-largest trading partner, after the European Union and China
- Cumulative Indian investment in Africa stood at over $75 billion between 1996 and 2024, placing India among the continent's top five investors
- India's engagement mechanisms include Lines of Credit extended through the Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of India, and capacity-building programmes such as the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme
The trade and investment figures underpin the "powerful force for global progress" framing — India's Africa outreach is substantiated by measurable, growing economic linkages rather than purely diplomatic rhetoric.
UNSC Reform — G4 vs the Ezulwini Consensus
India's advocacy for a "reformed multilateralism" giving Africa "its due place" connects directly to the ongoing, unresolved debate over UN Security Council expansion, in which India and African states hold related but distinct negotiating positions.
Key Details
- India is a member of the G4 (with Brazil, Germany, and Japan), which seeks new permanent Security Council seats without insisting on immediate veto power for new members
- The African Union's common position, the Ezulwini Consensus (2005), demands at minimum two permanent seats with full veto rights and five non-permanent seats for Africa — a more maximalist demand than the G4's
- The difference between the G4 and Ezulwini positions on the veto question has historically been a structural obstacle to consensus on UNSC reform
- India seeks African support for its own permanent-seat bid, making convergence with the Ezulwini position diplomatically significant, even though the two positions are not fully aligned
India's call for the world to give Africa "its due place" in multilateralism is consistent with support for African representation on the Security Council, while India's own G4-based reform proposal differs procedurally from Africa's Ezulwini Consensus on the veto issue.
- India-Africa trade in FY 2024-25: over $100 billion (up from ~$56 billion in FY 2019-20)
- Cumulative Indian investment in Africa (1996-2024): over $75 billion
- India's resident diplomatic missions in Africa: expanded to 46 countries, including 17 new missions opened in recent years
- IAFS editions held: 2008 (New Delhi), 2011 (Addis Ababa), 2015 (New Delhi)
- Ezulwini Consensus (2005): African Union's common position demanding two permanent (veto-holding) and five non-permanent UNSC seats for Africa
- India's UNSC reform grouping: the G4 (India, Brazil, Germany, Japan)