Second India-Africa Defence Dialogue (IADD)

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• The Indian Defence Minister recently addressed the second India-Africa Defence Dialogue (IADD).

More about the dialogue

• About:
  • India-Africa Defence Dialogue was held on the sidelines of DefExpo 2022 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
• Theme:
  • The theme of the second India-Africa defence dialogue was: 
    • “Adopting strategies for synergising and strengthening defence and security cooperation”. 
• Gandhinagar Declaration:
  • Gandhinagar Declaration was adopted to enhance cooperation in the fields of training & military exercises.
• Areas of cooperation:
  • The defence minister said India and African countries could explore new areas such as 
    • Capacity building, 
    • Training cyber security, 
    • Maritime security and 
    • Counter-terrorism.
  • He also invited African countries to explore Indian defence equipment and technologies. 
    • The minister said that the Indian defence industry was ready to fulfill the requirements of Africa.
• Africa India Field Training Exercise:
  • The next edition of the Africa India Field Training Exercise will be held in the first quarter of next year. 
  • The last edition was held in 2019. 
  • India has held African partners set up Defence training institutions and extended help for counter-insurgency training.
• Expansion of UNSC:
  • During the dialogue, India’s Defence Minister said that India does not believe in the hierarchical world order and sought the expansion of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
  • India called for democratisation of the world order during the dialogue along with the other African Nations.

India Africa Relations

• Long history of partnership: 
  • India has a long history of partnership with Africa, with solidarity and political affinity going back to the early 1920s when both regions were fighting against colonial rule and oppression. 
  • After India gained independence, it became a leading voice in support of African decolonization at the United Nations. 
• Promoted South-South Cooperation since independence:
  • Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme: 
    • In 1964, India launched the ITEC Programme to provide technical assistance through human resource development to other developing countries, with African countries the greatest beneficiaries of it and the Special Commonwealth African Assistance Programme (SCAAP).
• Building African capacity:
  • In 1949, India announced 70 scholarships for students from other developing countries to pursue studies in the country. 
  • Currently, about 98 Indian institutions run training courses in fields such as 
    • Agriculture, 
    • Food and fertilizer, 
    • Engineering and technology, and 
    • Environment and climate change. 
    • Oversees defence training programmes, 
    • Study tours, 
    • Aid for disaster relief, 
    • The deputation of Indian experts abroad and 
    • Project-based cooperation. 
  • Africa is a key beneficiary of the programme with nearly 50 percent of the ITEC slots reserved for countries from the region.
  • India-Africa cooperation has also focused on techno-economic capacity building, skill development and capacity building featured prominently in all the India-Africa Forum Summits.
• Trade & Investment:
  • Trade:
    • India is Africa’s fourth-largest national trading partner, according to Exim Bank and the African Export-Import Bank (Afriexim Bank). 
    • Merchandise trade grew by 34 percent from USD 67 billion in 2019-20 to USD 89 billion in 2021-22.
  • Investment:
    • India is among the top 5 investors in Africa.
    • The Ministry of External Affairs said that 38 African nations have benefited from India’s Duty-Free Tariff Preference (DFTP) scheme which provides duty-free access to 98.2 percent of India’s total tariff lines.
• COVID 19:
  • India has also aided African countries amid crises, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. 
  • India has provided 270 metric tonnes of food aid to Sudan, South Sudan, Djibouti and Eritrea.
  • Supplied essential medicines (including hydroxychloroquine and paracetamol) to over 25 African countries. 
  • The Indian government also organised e-ITEC training courses for healthcare professionals on COVID-19 prevention and management protocols. 
  • Vaccine diplomacy – Even as developed countries have focussed on securing large vaccine supplies for their own populations, India is being hailed for its vaccine diplomacy — it has exported over 1.6 crore doses of vaccines globally, of which about 62.7 lakh doses (or about 37 percent) are as grant assistance. 

Source:IE