Indian Investors Seeking Markets and Business Prospects

Abstract

Over the first decade of the twenty-first century, the scope of India–Africa economic cooperation widened rapidly, reflecting India’s emergence as an important player in the world economy and its substantial need for oil and other natural resources. That need was seen in the two India–Africa Forum summits of 2008 and 2011, in which India offered substantial loans, grants and development assistance in an attempt to “woo” African countries. India has undertaken initiatives to enhance its economic engagement with Africa on a mutually beneficial basis, mainly following the agenda of South–South cooperation. India’s foreign policy directives have aimed to help revamp African services, infrastructure and nascent market mechanisms, ultimately to encourage the move from agriculture to industry. Its engagement has, to a degree, been built on its diaspora. India has also coupled economic vectors—highlighting technology transfer and partnerships—alongside aid and trade agreements. The Indian development assistance scheme of 2003, for example, related aid to trade and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), with Indian strategic interests and exports prioritized, given India’s resource crunch and Africa’s potential as a resource-rich continent. This chapter reviews India’s promotion of economic ties through institutional frameworks and looks at recent bilateral trade trends, including some promising sectors for bilateral trade.