Prez Murmu to visit Angola, Botswana as part of India’s growing engagement with Africa
Africa is home to an Indian diaspora of more than three million, and the growing engagement with the region is in consonance with the government’s priority
NEW DELHI: President Droupadi Murmu will make the first visit by an Indian head of state to Angola and Botswana from November 8 to 13, as part of the country’s growing engagement with Africa to ramp up trade and investment and drive cooperation in crucial areas, such as defence and technology.
Several agreements and measures are expected to be finalised during the visit to take forward collaboration in health, fisheries and capacity building, Sudhakar Dalela, secretary (economic relations) in the external affairs ministry, told a media briefing on Thursday.
Defence cooperation will also be a key focus of the discussions with both countries, he said.
India has expanded its diplomatic footprint across Africa by opening 17 new missions on the continent in recent years, and two-way trade with African countries is currently valued at nearly $100 billion.
Africa is home to an Indian diaspora of more than three million, and the growing engagement with the region is in consonance with the government’s priority on strengthening partnerships with countries in the Global South, Dalela said.
Murmu will travel to Angola from November 8 to 11. Besides holding talks with her counterpart, João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, she will address Angola’s Parliament and participate in celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the country’s independence on November 11.
Angola, the current chair of the African Union, is the continent’s second-largest energy supplier. India’s two-way trade with Angola is worth $5 billion, with crude oil and LNG imports alone accounting for almost $4 billion. “Our partnership with Angola from an energy security perspective is very critical, and we would like to explore the possibility of providing more momentum and depth to our partnership in the energy sector,” Dalela said.
Murmu will visit Botswana from November 11 to 13 and hold talks with her counterpart, Duma Gideon Boko and address the National Assembly. The talks will focus on strengthening bilateral ties and exploring new avenues of cooperation in trade, investment, technology, energy and pharmaceuticals, Dalela said.
“Botswana’s Vision 2036 document outlines its effort to diversify its economy and to become a high-income society. The visit will provide us an opportunity to…discuss how the Indian business community can partner with their Botswana counterparts,” he said.
India had announced its readiness to extend a $200-million credit line for the defence sector in Angola, and the two sides are finalising an agreement in this regard, Dalela said. India provides training to the military officers of Angola and Botswana, and an Indian training team was deployed in Botswana for three decades to train the country’s defence forces.
After working with Namibia and South Africa for the translocation of cheetahs to India, the government is engaged in discussions with Botswana as part of Project Cheetah, and Dalela said “good progress” is expected soon in this regard.
