India-Africa Forum Summit to focus on trade, defence and critical minerals

TOp leaders of African nations ar expected to go to the India-Africa meeting place breast to be held this month, which testament see New Delhi unveil a roadmap to boost its ties with the continent, especially in trade, defence, space technology and critical minerals.The summit, the fourth of its kind, will be held in New Delhi on May 31. India has increased its diplomatic footprint in Africa by opening 17 new missions since 2018, taking the total number to 46. New Delhi has also sought to enhance trade and connectivity with Africa in the face of China’s growing presence on the continent.The India-Africa Forum Summit will focus on boosting cooperation in economy and trade, defence and security, critical minerals, energy, space and high technology, agriculture, health, education, and climate action, officials said on Saturday.“We are looking at enhancing our economic partnership in a big way,” an official said. The Indian side is keen to transform the relationship with African states into a forward-looking partnership with a robust developmental framework, the officials said.A declaration to be adopted at the conclusion of the summit will outline the agenda for cooperation that will seek to align India’s vision of becoming a developed nation by 2047 with Africa’s Agenda 2063.As with other regions of the world, India’s development assistance programmes for Africa are guided by local priorities and ownership of projects. India has provided more than 190 lines of credit worth more than $10 billion to 41 African states so far. India is also among Africa’s top five investors and the fourth-largest trading partner.These lines of credit were used for projects in sectors such as power, water supply, agriculture, transport, rural electrification and digital connectivity. A total of 220 projects worth $4.5 billion have been completed, the officials said.Trade between India and Africa was valued at $81.99 billion during 2024-25, with Indian exports worth $42.6 billion and imports amounting to $39.2 billion. Key Indian exports included petroleum products and pharmaceuticals.India’s cumulative investments in Africa between 1996 and 2025 were worth $80 billion, according to official figures. A total of 33 African states have benefited from India’s Duty-Free Tariff Preference (DFTP) scheme, which provides duty-free access for 98.2% of India’s tariff lines for Least Developed Countries, the officials said.The India-Africa Forum Summit is being held after a gap of more than 10 years, and the third summit was hosted by New Delhi in October 2015.