$600 mn credit and much more on Manmohan’s Africa tour

Seeking new pathways for a long-term partnership, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will leave for the second India-Africa forum summit in Ethiopia, which is followed by a bilateral visit to Tanzania, on Monday.

Seeking new pathways for a long-term partnership, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will leave for the second India-Africa forum summit in Ethiopia, which is followed by a bilateral visit to Tanzania, on Monday.

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Underlining the high objectives and goals, Prime Minister Singh is set to announce a number of measures for the African nations aimed at firming up the ties with the continent and to send out a subtle message that New Delhi does things differently from Beijing does for the continent.

Apart from loosening the purse strings-by giving a fresh line of credit over US $600 million — PM will announce a slew of measures aimed at the capacity building and human resources development when at the summit on May 24.

“The India-Africa partnership rests on three pillars of capacity building and skill transfer, trade and infrastructure development. It is designed to respond to the needs and priorities of Africa and for India to learn from Africa’s rich experience,” PM Manmohan Singh said in his departure statement.

One of the high points of the outcome of the India-Africa summit will be the ambitious India-Africa virtual university project. The issues of reforms of United Nations Security Council, piracy, terrorism will also figure in the India-Africa summit.