India is committed to deepening relations with African countries in the field of trade and technology: Union Minister Piyush Goyal

New Delhi: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that India is committed to deepening relations with African countries in the field of trade, knowledge, and technology transfer.

 

Addressing the 18th edition of the CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on 'India-Africa Growth Partnership' in New Delhi yesterday, Mr Goyal said India is the fifth largest investor in Africa with 74 billion dollars of investment. He expressed satisfaction over the bilateral trade saying that it is growing well with a growth of 9 to 10 percent in the last year. 

Highlighting the goal of taking India-Africa trade to 200 billion US dollars, Mr. Goyal said, Indian companies are looking for more opportunities in the African countries. 

 

Earlier, addressing the Special Plenary of the CII-EXIM Bank Conclave yesterday, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar highlighted that



India-Africa ties are not transactional but represent the solidarity of a shared struggle. He said, India believes in forging a development partnership with Africa that is based on the needs and priorities of its partners, as enunciated by Mr. Modi in Kampala principles in 2018. 

He mentioned that India has proved itself to be a trusted partner in Africa during the pandemic. He added that India is committed to enhancing capacity building and skill development among African youth.

 

Dr. Jaishankar underscored that our engagement today has stepped up with 36 high-level visits from India and more than 100 high-level visits from Africa during Prime Minister Modi's tenure. He further said, our development partnership focuses strongly on Digital, Green, Health, Food, and Water, which we believe, are the pressing priorities of Africa.