India and China scramble for Africa.

AuthorPierre, Jemima
PositionThinking Politically

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's attendance at the Second Africa-India Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in May 2011 marked his fourth visit to the continent in his eight years in office. For Singh, such summits are designed to "respond to the needs and priorities of Africa and for India." The relationship between Africa and India is one "based on equality, mutual trust and a consultative and transparent approach," he continued. "It is a living embodiment of South-South cooperation."

For the Indian state, it also signifies the triumphant success of its "bilateral" relationship with Africa, one that has granted lucrative access to Africa's vast resources while cultivating influence with Africa's political elite. Other Indian and international commentators, however, hail these summits as India's challenge to China's oversized role on the continent. Meanwhile, the ever-compromised African Union seems to follow Robert Mugabe's assertion that Africa has "turned east, where the sun rises, and given [its] back to the west, where the sun sets."

It is the Chinese who are generally heralded as purveyors of new terms of trade with Africa, but the Indians are not far behind. While both countries argue that their engagement with the continent is non-ideological and has no imperialist goals, the new relations of trade look much like the old. Once again, African human and material resources are at stake. African sovereignty may not be far behind.

India's trade with Africa stood at an estimated $46 billion in 2010, a huge increase from $3 billion in 2001. India says it will reach $70 billion by 2015. But this is still much less than China's trade with Africa, which is currently estimated at $126 billion. Apart from the trading relationships, India and China have granted the continent large loans and extended lines of credit--often without the "conditionalities" that typically accompany IMF/World Bank loans. For example, at the latest Africa-India summit, Singh promised $5 billion in credit lines over the next three years for development projects. He also offered $700 million for new institutions and training programs along with $300 million for an Ethiopia-Djibouti railway line.

India is stressing that its approach to Africa is different than China's because it depends primarily on its own private sector to secure investments in the continent while the state exchanges technological training for access to the continent's resources. The country admits it...

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