New era emerges with 'Duty free Scheme' at Indo-African summit

In a highly fervent environment, India with the purpose of redefining its relationship with the African continents announced on Tuesday to give duty free access to 34 African countries under a ‘Duty Free Tariff Preference Scheme’ for Least Developed Countries.

Under this scheme India would provide ‘duty free access’ to goods of immediate interests such as cotton, cocoa, aluminium ores, copper ores, cashew nuts, cane sugar, ready-made garments, fish fillets and non-industrial diamonds from 50 least developed countries comprising 34 least developed African countries.

While addressing the first ever India-Africa Summit in New Delhi on Tuesday the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced such proposal and pledge the credit assistance to Africa would be more than doubled for five years from the next fiscal years.

To mark this stage as the commencement of a new era of civilisation contacts, friendship and cooperation between the two countries, the Prime Minister said that India wished to see the 21st century as the century of Asia and Africa together.

The two continents have resemblance in history, culture, and post-colonial development and almost had gone through the same kind of situation in the past and now it’s time to move ahead with bold and firm steps and work towards the establishments of an India-Africa Volunteer Corps with devotion to development work. This development can’t be achieved unless and until the two continents go beyond the government to government contact and forge new relationship with people to people contact and work together to promote inclusive globalisation.

“Transfer of knowledge and human skills will strengthen our mutual capabilities. Such exchanges must go beyond government-to-government interactions and embrace our civil society, academics, artists, and writers. We have emergent common challenges of food security, energy security, pandemics, terrorism, and climate change,” said Dr Singh urging need to develop common programme for exchange of views, consultation and forging common strategies for addressing these pressing issues.

No progress can be observed without economic development so trade and industry should be the prime agenda in the process of growth and development in under-developed Africa.

India had acquired considerable experience in undertaking projects in different African countries through extension of concession-lines of credit by the EXIM Bank of India. Dr Singh said that Foreign Office Aid to Africa budget to execute human skills for implementing projects in critical areas of human resources development and capacity building would be enhanced to take on projects against grants in excess of $ 500 million.

Recalling that India extended a line of credit (LoC) worth $ 2.15 billion in the last five years announced that over the next five years, India would invest more than double this amount and offer an additional LoC amounting to $ 5.4 billion, both bilaterally and to the regional economic communities of Africa.

Dr Singh also emphasised on to strengthen local capabilities by creating regional and pan-African institutions of higher education in sciences, Information Technology and vocational education and investment in research and development in renewable forms of energy, and agricultural development. He also pledged to provide more opportunities to African students to pursue higher studies in India and proposed to double the long-term scholarship for undergraduates, postgraduates, and higher courses from 1100 to 1600 every year.

The summit unanimously accepted the drafts of the Delhi Declaration and the India-Africa Framework for Cooperation, which will provide the blueprint for India-Africa new tie-up in the 21st century.

Six Presidents heading the several African regional associations and senior Ministers from the continent are participating in the Indo-African summit to forge closer trade, economic and political ties with the continent.