ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL
Despite a few lingering ethnic and religious conflicts and governance issues in some countries , the people of this vast region are demanding and successfully securing better governance , democracy , the rule of law and transparency like never before . Globalisation has propelled this formerly neglected part of the earth in its march forward . Most of Africa is experiencing moderate to healthy economic growth rates that are fuelling the growth of its middle class and demand for more goods and services . Poverty rates are also on the decline .
Historically , Africa was the cradle of humanity , and the Indian land mass was once joined at the hip with Africa till the two geographic entities drifted apart due to tectonic shifts . Apart from this millennial old connection to the continent , Indians have been there since the first sailing ships , perhaps manned by Arabian sailors who discovered the monsoon wind trials across the Indian Ocean , crisscrossed this vast water body whose waves link rather than separate us . In that sense , Africa is a close neighbour . Nowhere is this more evident than in the significant number of people of Indian origin who have , over two centuries of out-migration , made large parts of southern and eastern Africa their home . Like with any friendly neighbour , once India embarked on unshackling itself from its colonial embrace in the middle of the last century , it rapidly built up its political ties with the newly independent countries and freedom movements in sub-Saharan Africa , as also the countries in northern Africa . In the 1950s , 60s and 70s , apart from strong political and brotherly bonds , India was itself too heavily engrossed in salvaging its own colonial battered socio-economic status - battling poverty , disease and hunger - to be a major partner in Africa ' s rebuilding and rejuvenation programmes , following phase wise independence gained by countries in the continent . However , even in those resource crunch days , India did share with Africa whatever it could spare , particularly teachers and educational experts , doctors and medical staff and experts in varied fields like agriculture , water management , bank management , etc .
India ' s ties with Africa have been stepped up in the last two decades both bilaterally and with the regional economic communities , initially with the SADC and Team-9 and continentally through the African Union ( AU ). Structured engagement with Africa took shape in 2008 with the First India Africa Forum Summit ( IAFS-I ) held in New Delhi in April that year . IAFS-II was held in Addis Ababa in May 2011 . However , both these events were limited to engagement with a few African leaders under the AU ' s Banjul format . IAFS-III was a ' great leap forward ' compared to our limited approach earlier . Why has India taken this major step , which requires the huge deployment of human and financial resources ? Is it simply following the herd ? In the following paragraphs , I have attempted to list some important reasons behind India ' s decision to substantially step up its engagement with Africa .
A FICCI study on ' The Rising Africa ' notes that , “ nowhere in the world is the impact of economic growth and development as visible
8 • Africa Day Special • 2018