On Wednesday he held a record 19 meetings with leaders including Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe and Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, the oil-rich nation key to India’s energy interests on the continent.
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“We will make available our space assets and technology”.
The visiting African leaders also agreed to step up cooperation in counter-terrorism and maritime security against the threats of organisations like Boko Haram, operating in several African countries.
“The third of the world population must be respected”. It is our right to be treated equally and with respect. “That is why we say let us amend the United Nations Charter to have equal nations, as we are not equal”. “The fact is that we are not trading sufficiently with each other”, she said.
The U.S. is open in principle to a modest expansion of both permanent and non-permanent members, he reiterated. Together with India we are two continents with people who have the right of self-determination. We have struggled for opportunity and for justice, which the African wisdom describes is the prime condition of humanity.
Morocco’s King Mohammad VI on Thursday said he admired India’s balanced and responsible foreign policy and expressed his country’s readiness to set up a joint working group to ensure coordination and information sharing between India and African countries in the field of security and anti-terrorism.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Thursday that India and Africa must join forces to call for reform of the United Nations to reflect the growing power of emerging nations on the global stage.
Modi said India, with its expertise in healthcare and affordable medicines, would help Africa in the fight against many diseases and give newborns a better chance to survive.
Modi said: “We have lived in the long shadow of colonialism”. “We will raise the level of our support for your vision of a prosperous, integrated and united Africa that is a major partner for the world”, he said. “That is why India advocates reforms in global institutions”, Modi said. Yes, the question of UN Security Council reforms was raised and it took centre stage during the senior officials and ministers meetings.
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He promised US$10 billion in new credit, in addition to US$7.4 billion in soft loans and US$1.2 billion in aid provided since the first India-Africa summit in 2008. Modi also sought African backing on having a permanent solution on public stockholding for food security and special safeguard mechanism in agriculture for the developing countries at the Nairobi WTO meet.
