India to share poverty reduction strategies with Africa

NEW DELHI - Setting the tone for the second summit with African countries next year, India Tuesday offered to share developmental experiences and poverty reduction strategies with the African continent.

“Our relationship has transformed in recent decades and years. We have now become developmental partners, looking out for each other’s interests and wellbeing, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said in an interaction with visiting African journalists.

“We have the vision, determination and ability to overcome our principal challenge, that of poverty alleviation. For this purpose, we have to address all that which stands in the way, including infrastructure bottlenecks, Krishna said. India hoped to lift 185 million people out of poverty by 2015, he added.

“We have accumulated a host of developmental experiences, which are perhaps more relevant to fellow developing countries. We are privileged not only to share them, but also to share our limited resources with friends in Africa, he stressed.

The minister outlined distinctive features of India’s Africa policy that revolves around capacity building, human resource, infrastructure development, bridging the information gap and forging closer cultural contacts.

“We are committed to go by the priorities and wishes of our African friends, in crafting programmes of cooperation through a consultative process, he stressed.

India and Africa will hold their second summit in an African country next year. New Delhi hosted the maiden India-Africa Forum Summit in 2008 that outlined a blueprint and a plan of action for transforming the India-Africa partnership in tune with realities of the 21st century.

As part of public diplomacy outreach, the external affairs ministry has invited 19 journalists from 10 African countries to India for a week’s visit.

The journalists, who arrived here Sunday, have met officials of the external affairs ministry dealing with Africa and had an interaction at India’s premier business forum, the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII).

They also visited the Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd (TCIL), the nodal agency in charge of implementing India’s iconic pan-Africa e-network in the continent. The e-network project seeks to bridge the digital divide across the African continent and bring benefits of tele-education and tele-medicine to African people. The African journalists will also visit Ahmedabad in Gujarat.