The 17th CII-EXIM Bank Conclave: The prospects of India-Africa Growth Partnership

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MCI) of the Government of India supported the 2005 inauguration of the CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India-Africa Project Partnership, which was later renamed the India-Africa Growth Partnership. The vice presidents of Gambia, Zambia, and Mauritius attended the 17th CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India Africa Growth Partnership, which was held in New Delhi. Additionally, 40 ministers from 17 African nations joined the vice president, Venkaiah Naidu, the minister of external affairs, S. Jaishankar, and the minister of trade, Piyush Goyal. Policymakers, bureaucrats, and titans of commerce and industry had the opportunity to examine the Indo-African Growth Partnership from a variety of angles at the conference.

According to the conclave website, it "played a pivotal role in encouraging Indian companies to establish and grow their footprint in Africa" over the years and "emerged as one of the largest congregations of senior ministers, policy makers and business leaders from Africa and India, cutting across sectors."

In addition to other fields where Indian businesses have consistently extended their presence over the years in Africa, this year's conclave focuses on infrastructure development and trade finance, education and training, agricultural and food processing, advisory services, and healthcare.

According to Exim Bank and the African Export-Import Bank, trade between the African subcontinent and India expanded from $7.2 billion in 2001 to $59.9 billion in 2017, making India the continent's fourth-largest national trading partner (Afriexim Bank). In 2017, commerce with India made up more than 6.4% of all trade in Africa.

The Duty Free Tariff Preference (DFTP) programme, which grants duty-free access to 98.2% of India's total tariff lines, has benefited 38 African countries, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.

According to the MEA, African nations have received lines of credit (LoCs) totaling $12.26 billion, making them the second-largest recipients of India's concessional loans.