Africa emerging market for Indian exports to expand rapidly: Commerce secretary

 Africa is an emerging market for Indian exports to expand rapidly, commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal said on Thursday, 22 August adding that New Delhi is considering doubling exports to African countries to $200 billion by 2030 by focusing on potential areas such as automobiles, agro-products, pharmaceuticals, and logistics.

India can help African countries in ensuring their food security, he said. Indian agriculture and agro-tech firms could play an instrumental role in expanding Africa’s food production capacity through various measures, such as the sharing of seed technology and the setting up of incubation centres, he said.

India’s bilateral merchandise trade with African countries stood at $100 billion in 2022 and is expanding, he said.

Barthwal was speaking at the valedictory session of the 19th India-Africa Business Conclave, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in New Delhi. The session was attended by vice presidents of five African nations: The Republic of Burundi, Republic of The Gambia, Republic of Liberia, Republic of Mauritius, and Republic of Zimbabwe.

Speaking at the session, ministry of external affairs (MEA) secretary, economic relations, Dammu Ravi urged Indian investors to establish deep footprints in Africa’s manufacturing zones and proposed them to consider expanding special economic zones (SEZs) in Africa.

Barthwal said the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has identified four potential areas of trade: automobiles; agriculture and agro-processing; pharmaceuticals; and transportation and logistics. “We firmly believe that these sectors have huge potential for collaboration in terms of investment, trade, technology, and capacity building between Africa and India,” he said.

Africa can also supply critical minerals to Indian industries, a fundamental input for India’s green energy transition. Critical minerals, like cobalt, copper, lithium, nickel, and rare earths, play a crucial role in the manufacturing of EVs and other clean energy products such as wind turbines.

Highlighting the collaborative efforts under the leadership of PM Modi to bring the African Union (AU) into the G20 as a full member, Goyal noted that India’s efforts to raise African issues in various global forums mark the beginning of a strengthened partnership between India and Africa.