India and Southern Africa: Forging Ahead Through Partnership

The book is a collection of papers presented by the authors at a conference organized by CRRID on ‘India and Southern Africa: Forging Ahead Through Partnership’, held at Chandigarh in February 2014, in partnership with ICWA. It was a part of a series of conferences organized by ICWA at the initiative of the Ministry of External Affairs on Africa, beyond the confines of Delhi. The Paper presenters are from India, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The contributors represent a good mix of theoreticians and practitioners, comprising the academia, former diplomats turned businessmen, media personalities and professionals involved in Information Technology (IT) – a sector that is emerging as a bridge that binds India with Africa.

The book is a window on the growing partnership between India and countries in Southern Africa. How this relationship has moved from the days of freedom struggle in the 1970s to the present day? This growing relationship is viewed in five clusters. The first cluster on ‘Experiences, Expectations and Perceptions’ sets the tone and parameters, under which the relationship is reviewed. The subsequent four clusters, under subheads – Connecting People, Economic and Commercial Linkages, Cooperation in Agriculture Sector and Knowledge Transfer and Capacity Building – deal with multifaceted subjects, focusing on specific areas.

The Book is about peopletopeople connectivity, as promoted through cultural linkages that are facilitated by Bollywood and Indian Diaspora. It is equally about the fillip provided by the India Africa Summit Forum (AIFS) process, which has provided a new continuum and intensity, fostering growth in diverse economic and commercial fields. The recurring message that emerges is that of partnership, as historical ties between India and Africa, move into modernity, with India striving to develop `Robust partnership with Robust Africa`.