{"id":222423,"date":"2022-04-19T22:14:48","date_gmt":"2022-04-19T20:14:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/africas-relationship-with-india-a-diplomats-view\/"},"modified":"2022-04-19T22:14:48","modified_gmt":"2022-04-19T20:14:48","slug":"africas-relationship-with-india-a-diplomats-view","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/africas-relationship-with-india-a-diplomats-view\/","title":{"rendered":"Africa’s relationship with India: a diplomat’s view"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Rajiv Bhatia<\/a>, who represented India as the most senior diplomat to Kenya, South Africa and Lesotho for a combined seven years, has written an account<\/a> of the relationship between his country and Africa. It comes at a time when India\u2019s relationship with countries on the continent has been gaining momentum. This is shown by growing trade and investment, an increase in high level political engagement, and New Delhi articulating ten specific principles<\/a> that guide it\u2019s engagement with Africa. Veda Vaidyanathan, who has researched Indian and Chinese contemporary engagement with various African countries, discusses what the new book adds to the understanding of this growing relationship.<\/em><\/p>\n

What\u2019s the book about?<\/h2>\n

India Africa Relations: Changing Horizons<\/a><\/em> looks at the factors that have driven and shaped the relationship between India and Africa. The book explains how it has transformed with time, and recounts Bhatia\u2019s own professional journey.<\/p>\n

The author switches between perspectives and dimensions of the relationship – temporal and thematic, geographic and historic, anecdotal and critical.<\/p>\n

He begins by providing an \u201coptimistic-realistic evaluation\u201d of the continent\u2019s potential. A youthful demography, fast growing economies and proven resource wealth are grounds for optimism. He also flags issues like regional conflicts, poverty and high unemployment. He says the \u201cworld too has a responsibility to assist Africans secure their goals\u201d and this should be based on a \u201crespectful and empathetic attitude\u201d.<\/p>\n

Using an array of data sources, he presents a summary of key developments in the Africa-India relationship, first before and after 1947, and later from 2000 to 2019. <\/p>\n

The narrative then shifts to Africa\u2019s changing relationships with other countries and blocs. This is to drive home the point that \u201cmuch of the world is far more interested in Africa today than it was 20 or even 10 years ago\u201d. Their interests are \u201cvaried but largely common\u201d, including security, access to natural resources, a growing market and \u201cdevelopment of the continent\u2019s human resources\u201d.<\/p>\n

What fresh insights does the book offer?<\/h2>\n

The author\u2019s approach to Africa\u2019s changing geopolitics is crucial on many counts. Scholars have largely studied the engagement of Indian actors in the region in isolation. They assume the levers that shape these relationships are largely internal. Their perspective overlooks a range of factors, particularly the impact of global events on African economies and how powers reengaging Africa are changing the status quo.<\/p>\n

Bhatia\u2019s primary aim appears to be underlining Africa\u2019s importance to India\u2019s foreign policy calculations. But the main questions that guide the book are these: how can New Delhi engage countries in Africa as other global actors, especially China, are stepping up their interactions in the region? And how can India-Africa relations be more comprehensive and productive?<\/p>\n

What struck you as the most interesting thing about the book?<\/h2>\n

The author argues that relations \u201cwill be influenced by the larger global developments, especially the US-China relations that came under serious stress in the recent years\u201d. Among other influences will be \u201cthe direction of the global economy once it begins to recover from the massive damage caused by COVID-19\u201d.<\/p>\n

For New Delhi, the most critical external partnership to examine closely would be China\u2019s. Bhatia devotes an entire chapter to this, tracing the timeline and examining various aspects of this multifaceted relationship. They include summit diplomacy, trade, investments, projects under China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative<\/a>, and a growing diaspora. <\/p>\n

He then presents a prudent assessment: <\/p>\n

\n

\u201cinstead of demonising China\u2019s Africa policy and its implementation, the competing nations need to focus on analysing it objectively and devising a more attractive policy model for themselves.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

He urges other powers to consider that<\/p>\n

\n

Africa needs and welcomes a multiplicity of options for partnerships. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Policymakers should consider each nation\u2019s individual strengths and craft sustainable alternatives.<\/p>\n

The book does not shy away from addressing difficult issues. Among them are the slow and inadequate implementation of previous agreements and commitments, lack of clarity in India\u2019s Africa policy and attacks against African students in India.<\/p>\n

Who should read it and why?<\/h2>\n

This book is a must-read for those interested in international affairs. But it will also be of interest to a broader audience. The insights are rooted in the reflections of an individual who has had a front row seat as the India-Africa relationship has evolved. Weaving personal impressions with the ideas of leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Kwame Nkrumah, Jawaharlal Nehru and Nelson Mandela, the author reminds the reader of the social, philosophical and cultural congruities that have guided the relationship.<\/p>\n

The book places the responsibility of African growth on its leaders, people, and civil society. But he also recognises the role partners like India can play in achieving its goals. According to the author, this is crucial because the world stands to benefit from the continent\u2019s prosperity as Africa is the future.<\/p>\n

Source: The Conversation<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rajiv Bhatia, who represented India as the most senior diplomat to Kenya, South Africa and Lesotho for a combined seven years, has written an account of the relationship between his country and Africa. It comes at a time when India\u2019s relationship with countries on the continent has been gaining momentum. This is shown by growing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":222424,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4584],"tags":[3257],"class_list":{"0":"post-222423","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-africa-news-2","8":"tag-mypr","9":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/africas-relationship-with-india-a-diplomats-view.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222423"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222423\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}