The four-day India Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) in New Delhi concluded on Thursday, with both India and Africa agreeing that the IAFS will be held once every five years from now onwards.
The four-day India Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) in New Delhi concluded on Thursday, with both India and Africa agreeing that the IAFS will be held once every five years from now onwards. Both sides also adopted a Delhi Declaration calling for “comprehensive reform” of the UN, while also taking note of each other’s aspirations for permanent positions in the UN Security Council though this seemed to fall short of outright endorsement. It was also decided to urge the global community to “cooperate with urgency to adopt the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism in the 70th session of the UN General Assembly”. The two sides also adopted a “framework for strategic cooperation” in which it was decided to adopt measures for job-creation and also to boost maritime security cooperation. India said “closer defence and security cooperation’ would be a key pillar of India-Africa partnership’ and also promised greater speed and transparency on the issue of the Line of Credit to African countries.
The Delhi Declaration stated, “India notes the common African position and the aspirations of the African countries to get their rightful place in an expanded UN Security Council as new permanent members with full rights... Africa takes note of India’s position and its aspirations to become a permanent member with full rights in an expanded UN Security Council”.
According to news agency reports, when asked as to why the African leaders did not clearly spell out their support for India’s candidature for permanent membership of UNSC, Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Navtej Sarna said the summit was not about reform of the global body and that it was one of the subjects discussed in it.
At the conclusion of the Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Given the scale of our Summit and the ambitious goals of our partnership, we have jointly agreed that the Summit should be held every five years. However, Africa will remain at the centre of our attention. Our engagement with Africa will remain intense and regular. I hope to see you here on bilateral visits. And, I look forward to visiting all regions of Africa in the years ahead.”
He further said, “I have listened carefully on how we can make our partnership more effective. Your feedback and suggestions will be very helpful in restructuring our lines of credit.”
We will take into account your special circumstances and we will ensure even greater speed and transparency in their utilisation.”
He added, “We have excellent defence and security cooperation with many African countries. We have done this bilaterally and through multilateral and regional mechanisms. Closer defence and security cooperation, will be a key pillar of India-Africa partnership. We will intensify our cooperation against terrorism and rally the world to build a common cause against it.”
The Delhi Declaration adopted by the two sides stated, “We note that Indians and Africans together comprise nearly one-third of humanity today. However, they continue to be excluded from appropriate representation in the institutions of global governance that were designed for an era since long past. ... We demand urgent collective action to put in place more democratic global governance structures that will assist in more equitable and just international security and development frameworks. ... We reaffirm our strong commitment for a comprehensive Reform of the United Nations system, including its Security Council, to make it more regionally representative, democratic, accountable and effective.”
“We look forward to finalising within the forthcoming global climate change negotiations an ambitious and comprehensive climate change agreement based on the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibility,” it added.
“We acknowledge that terrorism and violent extremism have emerged as primary threats to nations and our societies and condemn them in all their forms and manifestations. The menace of non-state actors including armed groups has acquired a new dimension as they expanded geographically, acquired resources and new instruments to spread extremist ideology and draw recruits. Tackling this challenge requires global strategy and cooperation. We emphasise that no cause or grievance can justify acts of terror and resolve to maintain zero tolerance against terrorism. We call on all countries to ensure that their territories are not used for cross-border terrorist activities. We strongly condemn direct or indirect financial assistance given to terrorist groups or individual members thereof by States or their machinery, to pursue such activities.”
The Delhi Declaration also decided to “promote the strengthening of the UN Counter-Terrorism mechanisms; call upon all States to ensure strict compliance with the UN Security Council sanctions regime on terrorism; and call on all countries to ensure that their territories are not used for cross-border terrorist activities. We urge the international community to cooperate with urgency to adopt the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism in the 70th Session of the UNGA.”
The Delhi Declaration also decided to “support a negotiated solution recognising the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, resulting in a sovereign, independent State of Palestine living side by side at peace with Israel” and agreed that the next India-Africa Forum Summit will be held in the year 2020.
According to the Framework For Strategic Cooperation, “India and Africa agreed to Support establishment of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Medium and Small Industries (MSIs) in order to promote employment creation and income generation for people of both sides ... (and) Promote Public-Private Partnership (PPP) by encouraging Indian businesses to set up skills development units in African industrial zones with the aim to train African engineers, technicians, managers and workers as well as by encouraging other experts in areas such as food security and solar energy.
Both sides also agreed to “pursue cooperation on Maritime security issues through training, capacity building, sharing of information, surveillance and other measures in securing Sea Lines of Communication, preventing transnational crimes of piracy, combating terrorism, illegal and unregulated fishing, trafficking of drugs, arms and humans through surveillance, and hydrography surveys”.
