External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr S Jaishankar is visiting Uganda and Mozambique, two of India’s key partners in eastern and southern Africa. The aim of Jaishankar’s visit is to push India-backed development projects in these African nations. Moreover, India aims to boost defence ties with both African countries. Jaishankar’s visit will surely help India achieve these aims. India’s engagement with the African countries is a welcome move amid the fast growing presence of China in the region. What underscores India’s priority for reaching out to Africa is that this is the first visit of the year from India to Africa by EAM. Similarly, Jaishankar’s visit to Mozambique will be the first visit by the Indian external affairs minister to this country since 2010. While India is reaching out to these African countries to boost bilateral relations with them, China’s attempt to expand its footprints in the African region is something that New Delhi is also keeping in mind. The fact that the Indian diplomatic establishment cannot ignore is that China is focusing on ramping up ties with Mozambique under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China is working on promoting cooperation with Mozambique in fields such as infrastructure construction, agriculture and energy. Recently, a Chinese spokesperson had said that China is willing to engage in all-round exchanges with Mozambique, further deepen their political mutual trust, and support each other on issues involving their respective core interests and major concerns. In fact, Africa has a huge coastline along the Indian Ocean as well as the Pacific Ocean. China is keen to develop overseas logistical facilities. China has only one base, located in Djibouti. But there are reports that it is pursuing other bases in multiple African countries. So, China’s strategy is always to expand its footprints in the entire African region, given the abundance of natural resources it has. With this in the background, Jaishankar’s visit to Africa is a timely and significant move. Definitely, there would be more visits by top Indian leaders this year to the African region, with multiple positive outcomes. Remarkably, Mozambique has emerged as one of India’s key defence partners along the Indian Ocean Region. Over the years, India and Mozambique have signed several bilateral agreements and MoUs for collaboration in diverse sectors which include mineral resources. Beijing keeps its eyes on mineral resources of the various African countries including Mozambique. During his meetings in Uganda, Jaishankar discussed cooperation in trade, investment, infrastructure, energy, defence, health, etc. Significantly, Uganda has assumed chairship of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) for which Jaishankar also congratulated it. Jaishankar is also expected to visit South Africa next month for the BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting. There is no denying that Jaishankar will be meeting some key African leaders on the sidelines of the BRICS conclave. This will also be part of India’s well-planned outreach to Africa in a bid to give further positive and dynamic push to bilateral ties with the countries in the region. After meeting with the Indian Business Community, Jaishankar tweeted on Tuesday, “India’s progress and prosperity create new opportunities that can benefit Uganda. Just as India’s experiences can help Uganda’s development journey.” Jaishankar’s words underline India’s bigger plans to expand business and trade ties with Uganda. India is aware that the African continent has become a part of China’s economic and political global strategy. Economic development has been the main focus of China’s strategy when it comes to strengthening ties with the African region which is rich in essential natural resources. Some experts say that Africa is a key partner in strengthening China’s influence in international organisations. Jaishankar once said that the African continent plays an important role in India’s foreign policy outlook. India is among the top five countries that have invested in the African continent. With this in view, India must be going ahead with a robust development agenda for Africa.
