14th CII-EXIM Bank Conclave to begin to boost India-Africa economic, business ties

Ministry of Commerce & Industry will be organising the 14th CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India-Africa Project Partnerships, in association with Confederation of Indian Industry and EXIM Bank of India in New Delhi from March 17-19, 2019. The event will mark the deepening of India-Africa economic and business ties and pave the way for a whole range of cross-border project partnerships. The annual Conclave, since its inception in 2005, brings senior Ministers, policymakers, officials, business leaders, bankers, technologists, start-up entrepreneurs and other professionals from India and Africa on a common platform in a spirit of partnership.

Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice President of Republic of Ghana, Dr Ibrahima Kassory Fofana, Prime Minister of the Republic of Guinea, Monyane Moleleki, Deputy Prime Minister of Kingdom of Lesotho will be present in this conclave. Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu, C. R. Chaudhary, Minister of State for Commerce & Industry and Dr.Anup Wadhawan, Secretary, Department of Commerce will also participate in the Conclave. More than 31 senior Ministers from 21 African countries apart from business delegates from 37 countries would be participating in this event.

The Conclave will mark the pre-eminence of India-Africa partnership in the area of 'South-South Cooperation', at a time when the global economy is faced with intractable challenges that stem from rising protectionism and trade conflicts. The India-Africa bilateral partnership is augmented by India's ascendency as the fastest growing major economy, as well as Africa's new economic dynamism illustrated by some of the Sub-Saharan economies which are among the top 10 fastest growing economies in the world.

The Conclave coheres into the Indian Government's broader vision of long-term engagement with Africa. The Government of India's unflinching commitment to expanding the canvas of India-Africa economic partnership which is evident from the increase in bilateral trade between India and Africa by nearly 22% from last year touching USD 62.66 billion in the year 2017-18.

The knowledge sessions at the Conclave will focus upon the potential areas for bilateral economic and business partnerships, core capabilities of Indian and African enterprises and opportunities for joint ventures thereof, innovative financing of significant development projects, skill development and capacity building.

The deliberations will be guided by long-term goals and objectives:

scaling up India-Africa bilateral trade volume to USD150 billion in the next few years

encouraging Indian exporters to access the African countries and increase their presence in the region

enabling geographical and product diversification of Indian exports to Africa

enhancing manufacturing exports of Africa by optimal utilisation of Duty-Free Tariff Preference scheme and capacity building support from India

expanding Indian investments in areas like infrastructure, agriculture and food-processing, energy, services, IT and knowledge industries.

The Conclave is expected to see the participation of 400 plus delegates from Africa and around 300 delegates from India. The B2B meetings at this Conclave are expected to be held on more than 500 project proposals from Africa.

(With Inputs from PIB)