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Felex Share in New Dehli, India
The 10th India-Africa Conclave opened here on Sunday night amid calls for Asian banks to extend the repayment period of lines of credit they offer to African countries.The extension of the repayment period, delegates said, was necessary as African countries were going through different stages of development and some of them, like Zimbabwe, were reeling under economic sanctions from Western countries, making it difficult for them to pay back the loans in time.
The three-day India-Africa Conclave is a business congress organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry and the EXIM Bank of India with the support of the Indian Ministries of Commerce and External Affairs to foster greater dialogue and co-operation between the two parties.
Industry and Commerce Minister Mike Bimha and Small to Medium Enterprises and Co-operatives Development Minister Sithembiso Nyoni are leading a Zimbabwean delegation that includes representatives of various State enterprises and parastatals.
In his address at the inaugural session at Taj Palace, Lesotho Prime Minister Dr Thomas Thabane called for increased co-operation between Africa and India, saying the Asian giant played a catalytic role in Africa’s capacity building initiatives.
“With this in mind, we appeal to the EXIM Bank of India to review the times for lines of credit, taking into account the different stages of development and difficulties of African countries,” he said.
Dr Thabane said co-operation between the two sides should not be one-sided but should offer a “win-win” situation. Africa, he said, had the resources while India had the funding and expertise to unlock those resources.
“We must therefore explore innovate ways in which we can fully utilise these lines of credit to unlock Africa’s vast development potential,” he said.
“We need to identify projects that would lead to rapid and sustainable economic growth and which transform Africa into a major economic power and strategic partner.
“Africa represents the next and last frontier for global business and investment. It offers enormous opportunities and India should take advantage of this.”
Dr Thabane said India was a social inspiration to Africa and the two parties shared a common history.
“We have stood together for liberation from colonialism and apartheid and we continue to work together for equitable and just international governance systems at the United Nations and other international forums,” he said.
“Even when India is still faced with challenges like eradicating hunger and poverty, which many African countries are facing, it has always managed to extend a helping hand to African States in their quest for economic growth.”
Minister Bimha said the increase in the number of projects in Africa financed by the EXIM Bank was an indication that the Conclave was growing.
Close to 2 000 projects worth US$172 billion have been initiated since the Conclave began 10 years ago.
Said Minister Bimha:“This is a worthwhile event and that is why we support the calls for the review of the repayment period of credit facilities.
“When they come up with these facilities, they are standard but our countries have different backgrounds in terms of hardships.
“We want facilities that take into account the hardships and each country should be considered on its merit.”
Minister Bimha said Zimbabwe would use the conference to follow up on the US$100 million credit facility the country was working on with India.
“We are looking at a number of facilities to resuscitate our industry and as a result any facility that comes up we are interested in it,” he said.
“We are still finalising modalities with the Ministry of Finance on the (US$100 million) credit facility and we are going to engage the Indians on the way forward.”
India Minister of Commerce and Trade Mr Anand Sharma said there was need for skills and technology transfer from India to Africa as the latter had made remarkable progress in the information technology sector.
Online Reporter