I am happy to be here in this beautiful land and to have
the opportunity to share some thought with the young people, who would
shape the world of the future in their own chosen ways. I say this in
the confidence that your generation would have the wisdom to avoid the
follies and limitations of the past and look forward instead to a future for
our world in which the operative principle would be cooperation rather than contention and the objective would be mutual
benefit rather than selfish greed.
My delegation and I bring to you the greetings and good
wishes of the 1.3 billion people of India and particularly of the world’s largest number of
youth, 328 million, who constitute 28 percent of our population and who, like
young people everywhere, are anxious to build a better world.140
Last month, we in India , had the privilege to welcome His Excellency President
Paul Kagame as a special guest at160 the Vibrant Gujarat
event. This gesture was instrumental in consolidating further our bilateral
relationship. I must compliment you on the impressive signs of development and
progress that are evident everywhere. This, I understand, has been possible due
to the foresight and sagacious vision of the leadership and the hard work
of the people. We in India see ourselves as a strong development partner to Rwanda . We are already cooperating in sectors such as solar electrification,
food processing, skill development and hydropower projects.
During President Kagame’s recent visit an understanding has
been reached for a new line of credit worth $ 80 million for a road project. We
are also committed to continuing and enhancing the provision of scholarships
for training280 of Rwandan civilians and defence personnel
under various technical cooperation and cultural cooperation programmes. Our bilateral trade has doubled over the last
five years, but at US $ 106 million, remains modest and much below its
potential. Rwanda has a320 dynamic economy and ranks
highly in the ease of doing business, providing many incentives for investors.
We share with Rwanda , this strong desire to provide stable democratic
governance and opportunities for growth and prosperity of our people.
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of inaugurating,
jointly with Prime Minister Murekezi, the Rwanda-India Business Forum that will
bring together business partners from our two countries. We also
inaugurated an exhibition that showcases some of the more useful and
cost-effective innovations from Indian industry that can be adapted for use
here. On our part, we continue to encourage Indian companies to be
bolder420 and more imaginative in seizing the opportunities
that Rwanda presents.
The upsurge in India-Africa relations comes at a time when
the world has acknowledged India ’s growth story. The rapid growth of our economy over the
last 25 years has provided India with additional resources, not only to augment its own
developmental efforts, but also to collaborate with our partners in480
their developmental efforts across the world, and particularly in Africa . It
takes place at a time when Africa has cast off its image of deprivation and hopelessness
and has taken control of its own resources and destiny, as winds of progress,
peace and participation sweep across this great continent. This new-found
confidence and developmental zeal is best demonstrated by your own country
whose economic performance has been termed ‘remarkable’ by the International
Monetary Fund. India’s engagement with Africa has its560
own unique script, based on what Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called, ‘a strong emotional link’ defined by our shared history of
struggle against colonialism and our aspiration to bring prosperity to our
people. The imperatives that drive African-Indian engagement are based on our
shared challenges, common interests, and perceptions of mutual benefit.
The first
imperative comes from our shared
history and cultural links. India owes an unforgettable debt of gratitude to Africa ’s role
in inspiring our struggle for national liberation.640
It was on this continent that Mahatma Gandhi developed and first practised the
concepts of non-violence and peaceful resistance that won India its freedom. Our present choices are informed by our
shared experience of anti-colonial struggle against exploitation and racial
discrimination. India , despite the constraints of its growing economy, was a
forerunner in championing the interests of developing countries,700
including those from Africa , through initiatives such as the Bandung Declaration of 1955,
the Group of 77 and the Non-Aligned Movement. In addition, a large number of
people of Indian origin call Africa their home, a number of them being based in the Eastern
and Southern parts of Africa . They contribute to the growth of local economy and provide
a link between their adopted homes and their country of origin.
The second
imperative comes from our
complementary strengths and capacities that make us natural economic and
commercial partners. India provides a long-term, stable and profitable market to the goods
and services800 that Africa
generates. For India , Africa has the potential to become a major contributor to our
energy security and food security requirements. This is a ‘win-win’
situation. India is increasingly an important source of investment for
projects in Africa ,840 which span diverse sectors such as
pharmaceuticals, information technology and telecommunications, engineering,
education, health and agriculture. Indian private sector has been a pioneer in
making investments in Africa , contributing to generation of employment and growth in
the countries receiving such investments. The quantum of Indian investments in Africa has
increased in recent years and is presently estimated to be about $ 35
billion, with a large part of it concentrated in Southern and Eastern Africa .
Agro business initiatives have been a crucial component in our commercial
exchange. Indian successes in agriculture have taken place in the context of
low capital intensive farming and varied climatic conditions, which can be
of relevance to Africa . Furthermore, the growing middle-class in urban India can960 become a dependable
consumer for African food processing industry. In order to address the trade
imbalance and diversify the980 trade basket, India has already offered duty-free access to Indian markets,
with very few exceptions, for all the Least Developed Countries of Africa.
The third
imperative comes from our common
approach in meeting development challenges towards building a sustainable
future for our people. The African leadership is aware of India ’s domestic experience and success in developing a vibrant
manufacturing and services sector, while encouraging inclusiveness at societal
level. While each country has its own unique development story, the answer to many
issues confronting us in health and well-being, food security and nutrition,
energy, climate change, water and sanitation lie perhaps in the mirror image
that India and Africa present in terms of demography, disease burden and
resource constraints; and how we have met these challenges through innovative
solutions. Africa and India can thus learn much from each other in terms1120
of capacity building, program implementation and innovation.
Our development cooperation engagement with Africa is
unique, based on mutual benefits while contributing to Africa ’s
development objectives through a consultative process. Our approach has not
been one of demanding privileges or rights to projects, but rather a
desire to contribute to the achievement of Africa ’s
development objectives as they are established by Africans themselves. A wide
range of areas have been covered including agriculture, small and medium
enterprises, science and technology, health, education, culture,
infrastructure, energy, communications, civil society and governance.
Our partnership model is premised on human resource development and
institution building in partner countries. This in turn, creates skills and
capacities in Africa – particularly in sectors such as agriculture, food
processing, textile and small industries-- and benefits expansion of their
export to India and other countries.
The fourth
imperative for our cooperation
comes from a shared perspective on1400 addressing peace
and security related issues and a convergence of views on matters
global. We share similar views and positions1440 on a variety
of global concerns, ranging from combating terrorism and piracy to
coordinating our positions in global forums over issues such as reforms at the
United Nations, world trade and climate change. The reform of political,
security and economic institutions of global governance has been a key
area of such cooperation, with both Africa and India underlining the urgency of undertaking such reforms,
including a meaningful expansion of the United Nations Security
Council.
The threat of terrorism has emerged as a major impediment
in our quest for peace and prosperity for our people. The spreading tide of
terrorism and extremism is a threat that all civilized societies face today. In
India we face the threat from across our borders.1540
Terrorist action and violence cannot be justified on any grounds. We condemn
terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and call for strong
and concerted international efforts to deal with this menace in a comprehensive
manner.1596
