Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: As global power structures undergo structural realignment, the India–Africa engagement is increasingly positioned not merely as historical solidarity, but as a forward-looking partnership shaping a more equitable and multipolar global order, according to delegates at a conference held by the Chintan Research Foundation (CRF) on February 23. In the keynote address at the event, the Ministry of External Affairs’s Secretary (Economic Relations), Sudhakar Dalela, said: “The turbulent times we are living in, accompanied by disruption of supply chains, ask for south-south cooperation in energy transition and climate action.”
Further underscoring Africa’s centrality in India’s economic diplomacy and South–South cooperation framework, his address encompassed the increasing Indian diplomatic footprint in Africa, and specified that India-Africa solidarity is characterised by India’s principle of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family)“.
The conference brought together ambassadors, senior diplomats, policymakers, scholars, and strategic analysts to deliberate on the evolving contours of India–Africa engagement amid a rapidly transforming global landscape. Panellists emphasised that the India–Africa partnership needs to expand into newer areas like digitisation, critical minerals and climate action, while strengthening the partnership in aspects such as trade, people-to-people linkages and security challenges.
High Commissioner of South Africa to India and former G20 and BRICS Sherpa Anil Sooklal highlighted three key aspects of technological cooperation, which include sharing innovations in the agriculture sector towards food security and assistance in capacity building and skill development, to be considered in the fourth India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS). While exploring the transformative potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), he underlined that India needs to have a concrete blueprint in terms of engagement with the larger Africa.
