Utilizing the presidency of the G20 summit to put forward a global agenda based on multi-alignment in international trade and partnerships, India is actively seeking to expand the G20 to G21 by including African Union as a permanent member. On Prime Minister Modi’s advice, India has set up 18 new embassies in the African Union making India the nation with the highest number of embassies in the AU. According to External Affairs Minister Jaishankar, the Indian presence and the difference India brings to African Union will be based on the preferences, choices, and priorities of the 1.4 billion AU population.
Observing contradictions in the narratives of global media outlets covering recent conflicts such as the riots in France, it is imperative the developing world comes together on a common platform to communicate concerns, perspectives, and priorities related to their agendas in order to eliminate any misinterpretation of their efforts. To this effect and to reshape and create a new world order, the Voice of Global South Summit inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi has included African Union amongst other developing nations in South America and Asia.
Building upon the diplomatic foundation India is further engaging with Africa through investments and trade, with a spirit of solidarity, mutual benefit, and equitable distribution of profits. Tanzania, a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and the largest trade partner of India in the African Union accounts for more than USD 4.5 billion in bilateral trade, which is split almost in half between the two countries. Since the last couple of decades, India has been the second largest creditor to the African Union after China. During the last 10 years, India has lent over USD 32 billion to 42 countries of the African Union to fund projects ranging from metro rails to basic utility infrastructure projects such as power and water. African Union received 38% of loans India gave out during the last 10 years. India has opened close to 200 lines of credit with African Union nations where the funds are exclusively used for development projects.
Africa is the second largest continent in the world with 19 out of its 54 countries holding membership of the Commonwealth of Nations, which has long been neglected. Africa is resource-rich, with an abundance of minerals, precious metals, and coal, along with crude oil deposits. Bikita mine, located in Zimbabwe is the known largest Lithium deposit in the world estimated to hold 11 million tons; Lithium is one of the main raw materials that go into producing batteries used in Electric Vehicles and modern electricity storage applications. African Lithium production is expected to increase from 40,000 tons this year to 500,000 tons by the end of the decade. One-third of the world’s Bauxite reserves – the primary raw material in aluminum production are found in three African countries, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Guinea. African Union holds approximately 40% of the world’s Gold reserves and 90% of Chromium and Platinum reserves. The World’s largest reserves of Cobalt, diamond, and Uranium are also found within the continent of Africa. According to the UN Environment Program, African Union holds 65% of the world’s arable land and 10% of the world’s renewable freshwater sources.
China saw the potential of Africa as an untapped market long before India and the West. During the last 10 years, China pledged over USD 134 billion to African Union and in 2021 alone Chinese-AU bilateral trade topped USD 254 billion. It is estimated the current Chinese population in African Union exceeds 3 million people. Critics claim Chinese projects challenge the integrity of the African Union nations and compromise national assets; for example, China was on course to take over the airport of Uganda.
Currently, African Union is home to about 3 million people of Indian origin and about a million is residing in South Africa. African Union also has a significant population of Indian descent spanning to colonial times where both these communities suffered negative repercussions of colonialism. This historic bond with Indian populations scattered across South Africa and other African Union nations creates a more intimate backdrop for Indian presence in AU, Guyanese President Irfaan Ali’s speech lauding Prime Minster Modi and India’s outreach during COVID-19 further reiterates this bond. Addressing the communities in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar mentioned a potential broader and deeper partnership, termed ‘IT mission’ referring to the India-Tanzania partnership, emphasized India’s commitment to create capacities in the African Union so that the ‘Rise of Africa’ takes place synonymously with ‘India Rising’ in Asia. As India is proposing a global agenda for a multi-polar world reinforcing the strategic autonomy of sovereign nations, India will inevitably require to engage in a deeper dialog with other global superpowers such as China in order to make the multi-polar world a reality.
