India-Africa Relations

Central and West Africa

The region covers 25 countries of west, northwest, central and southwest Africa.

The region is home to Africa’s largest population and fastest growing economies with huge reserves of energy, resources and minerals.

• India’s Import: India sources about 18% of its crude oil requirement from this region.
• Trade: The total bilateral trade during the year 2020-21 was USD 23.89 billion. India is currently implementing a flagship project in tele-education and tele-medicine for Africa called e-Vidya Bharati Arogya Bharati Network Project (e-VBAB).

West and North Africa

Trade: The value of Indian exports to Nigeria was the highest within the countries in West Africa in fiscal year 2022. This amounted to over 4.6 billion U.S. dollars.

Togo ranked second in this list with over US$ 3 billion worth of exports.

West African countries accounted for 3.2 percent of all exports from India that year.

Political Relations: The India-Africa Forum Summit, which was held from April 4 to April 8, 2008 in New Delhi, India for the first time, constitutes the basic framework for the relations under the South-South Cooperation platform.

Collaborations: African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF): As a full member of African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), India has pledged $1 million towards ACBF’s sustainable development, poverty alleviation, and capacity building initiative.

India Africa Forum Summit: It is held once in every three years beginning from 2008. India by consistently holding India- Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) in places like New Delhi (2008), Addis Ababa (2011) and New Delhi (2015).

Defence Exercise: Indian Africa Field Training Exercise (IAFTX) (started in 2019).