By Pradeep N
1. Introduction
The African Union (AU) is a continental body of 55 member states established in 2002 (succeeding the Organisation of African Unity, founded 1963), headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It pursues continental integration, peace and security, and socio-economic development through its long-term blueprint, Agenda 2063: ‘The Africa We Want’.
India’s engagement with Africa rests on a long history of anti-colonial solidarity, South-South cooperation, and shared membership of the Non-Aligned Movement. In recent years this relationship has been institutionalised through the India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) process and elevated by India’s championing of the AU’s permanent membership of the G20 in 2023.
2. Brief Historical Background
• Anti-colonial solidarity: India, itself a former colony, supported African decolonisation and the anti-apartheid struggle. Mahatma Gandhi’s formative years in South Africa form an enduring symbolic link.
• Non-Aligned Movement (NAM): From the 1955 Bandung Conference and the 1961 founding of NAM, India and newly independent African states cooperated on sovereignty, decolonisation and South-South solidarity.
• OAU to AU: India maintained ties with the Organisation of African Unity (1963–2002) and continued them with its successor, the African Union, from 2002.
• Diaspora links: A large Indian-origin diaspora across East and Southern Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Mauritius, Uganda) provides deep people-to-people ties.
• Institutionalisation: Ad hoc engagement was formalised with the launch of the India-Africa Forum Summit in 2008, creating a structured, summit-level mechanism.
3. Key Milestones (Timeline)
| Year | Milestone |
| 1955 | Bandung Conference — Afro-Asian solidarity foundation. |
| 1961 | India a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement alongside African states. |
| 2002 | African Union established (succeeding the OAU). |
| 2008 | IAFS-I held in New Delhi — first India-Africa Forum Summit. |
| 2011 | IAFS-II held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. |
| 2015 | IAFS-III in New Delhi — largest, with ~41 heads of state/government; 50,000 scholarship/training slots pledged. |
| 2018 | India opens a major expansion of diplomatic missions across Africa (18 new embassies approved). |
| 2023 | Under India’s G20 Presidency, the African Union admitted as a permanent member of the G20 (New Delhi Summit, 9 Sept 2023). |
| 2024 | India’s Lines of Credit extended to 68 countries, totalling about USD 32 billion. |
| 2025 | India-Africa bilateral trade crosses the USD 100 billion mark (FY2024-25). |
| 2026 | IAFS-IV convened in New Delhi (theme: ‘IA SPIRIT’) — first summit in 11 years. |
4. Important Agreements, Frameworks & Initiatives
4.1 India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS)
The apex institutional mechanism for India’s engagement with Africa, established in 2008. It covers political, security, economic, trade, developmental, cultural and people-to-people cooperation. IAFS-IV (New Delhi, 2026) carries the theme ‘IA SPIRIT’ — India-Africa Strategic Partnership for Innovation, Resilience and Inclusive Transformation.
4.2 Development & Capacity-Building Instruments
• Lines of Credit (LoCs): Concessional credit (over USD 12 billion committed historically; LoCs extended to 68 countries totalling ~USD 32 billion by 2024) financing infrastructure, energy, agriculture and rail projects.
• Grant assistance: Around USD 700 million in grants for diverse development projects.
• ITEC & scholarships: The Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation programme and large scholarship/training quotas (50,000 slots pledged at IAFS-III).
• Duty-Free Tariff Preference (DFTP) Scheme: Duty-free access on about 98.2% of India’s tariff lines for Least Developed Countries, benefitting 33 African nations.
• Pan-African e-Network / e-VidyaBharti & e-ArogyaBharti: Tele-education and tele-medicine connectivity across the continent.
4.3 India-led Global Initiatives joined by African states
• International Solar Alliance (ISA) — 39 African countries.
• Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) — 9 African countries.
• Global Biofuel Alliance (GBA) — 11 African countries.
• International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) — 10 African countries.
| Key Point — The G20 Milestone• On 9 September 2023, at the New Delhi G20 Summit, the African Union was admitted as a permanent member of the G20 on India’s proposal.• PM Modi invited AU Chairperson Azali Assoumani (President of Comoros) to take the AU’s seat.• The AU became the second regional bloc in the G20 after the European Union, framed under India’s motto of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’.• It amplified the voice of the Global South and was a signature outcome of India’s G20 presidency. |
5. Economic Relationship
India is now among Africa’s largest economic partners — variously ranked the third or fourth-largest trading partner alongside China, the EU and the UAE — and the second-largest bilateral lender to Africa after China.
| Indicator | Figure |
| Bilateral trade (FY2024-25) | Crossed USD 100 billion (~USD 100-103 billion); roughly doubled since 2019-20. |
| Trade growth (two decades) | Up ~112%, from ~USD 45 billion (2008) to ~USD 89-100+ billion. |
| India’s investments in Africa | Surpassed USD 75 billion (telecom, energy, infrastructure, mining). |
| Lines of Credit | ~USD 32 billion to 68 countries (2024). |
| India’s rank | 3rd/4th largest trading partner of Africa; 2nd-largest lender. |
5.1 Composition of Trade
• India’s exports to Africa: Pharmaceuticals (over USD 10 billion annually), refined petroleum products, machinery, rice, textiles and automobiles.
• India’s imports from Africa: Crude oil, critical minerals, gold and other raw materials fuelling India’s energy and manufacturing needs.
• India’s edge: Affordable generic medicines (‘pharmacy of the Global South’), digital public infrastructure (UPI, India Stack) and capacity-building — areas where India offers a distinctive value proposition versus China’s infrastructure-and-finance model.
6. Political Relationship
• Shared Global South identity: India positions itself as a leading voice of the Global South, convening the ‘Voice of Global South’ Summits (from January 2023) where the idea of AU’s G20 membership took shape.
• Diplomatic expansion: Significant increase in Indian diplomatic missions across Africa to deepen bilateral engagement.
• Multilateral coordination: African support for India-led coalitions (ISA, CDRI, GBA) and reciprocal Indian advocacy for African representation in reformed global governance, including UN Security Council reform.
• Non-conditional partnership: India emphasises demand-driven, consultative cooperation without political conditionality — contrasting its model with other external partners.
• Summit diplomacy: The IAFS process runs alongside Africa’s other partner summits — FOCAC (China), TICAD (Japan), and EU and Italy (Mattei Plan) summits — in competitive ‘Africa+1’ diplomacy.
7. Strategic Relationship
• Indian Ocean security: Africa’s eastern seaboard is central to India’s maritime vision — SAGAR (‘Security and Growth for All in the Region’) and the maritime doctrine MAHASAGAR — including anti-piracy patrols, naval visits and capacity-building.
• Energy security: African crude oil and critical minerals (cobalt, lithium and others) are strategically important for India’s energy transition and manufacturing.
• Counterbalancing China: India offers an alternative development partnership to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, leveraging digital infrastructure and concessional finance rather than competing head-on in mega-infrastructure.
• Defence cooperation: Training, defence exports, joint exercises (e.g., AFINDEX – Africa-India Field Training Exercise) and peacekeeping cooperation.
• Global governance reform: India and African states jointly press for a more equitable, multipolar order and reform of multilateral institutions.
8. Contemporary Relations under the Modi Government
Since 2014, the Modi government has markedly intensified India’s Africa outreach, treating the continent as a priority of foreign policy and Global South leadership.
• IAFS-III (2015): Hosted the largest-ever India-Africa summit in New Delhi with broad participation and major scholarship and credit pledges.
• Mission expansion (2018 onward): Approval to open numerous new embassies across Africa, expanding diplomatic footprint.
• High-level visits: Sustained leadership engagement; nearly 100 African leaders visited India during 2014-2019.
• G20 Presidency & AU membership (2023): The landmark induction of the African Union as a permanent G20 member — arguably the defining achievement of India’s Africa policy under Modi.
• Global South summits: India hosted ‘Voice of Global South’ summits (2023 onward) to channel developing-country concerns.
• Trade milestone (2024-25): Bilateral trade crossing USD 100 billion, with expanded lines of credit reaching 68 countries.
• IAFS-IV (2026): Revival of the summit in New Delhi after 11 years under the ‘IA SPIRIT’ theme, focusing on innovation, resilience and inclusive transformation; a credibility test of delivery on past commitments.
| Key Points — Summary for Revision• India-AU ties are rooted in anti-colonial solidarity, NAM and South-South cooperation.• The IAFS (since 2008) is the apex mechanism; IAFS-IV held in New Delhi in 2026.• 2023 G20 permanent membership of the AU on India’s proposal is the signature recent milestone.• Economically, trade crossed USD 100 billion (FY25); India is a top-3/4 partner and 2nd-largest lender.• India’s distinctive tools: pharmaceuticals, digital public infrastructure, concessional credit and capacity-building — without political conditionality.• Strategically: Indian Ocean security (SAGAR/MAHASAGAR), energy & critical minerals, and counterbalancing China. |
9. Challenges
• Chinese dominance: China far outpaces India in trade volume (Africa-China ~USD 296 billion in 2024) and infrastructure financing.
• Slow project execution: Delays in delivering lines of credit and projects undermine India’s credibility.
• Diversity of the AU: Unlike the EU, the AU lacks a common currency and uniform policy, so India largely pursues bilateral rather than bloc-wide deals; no India-AU FTA is on the table.
• Connectivity and financing gaps, political instability in parts of the continent, and declining/volatile Indian outward FDI flows.
10. Conclusion
The India-African Union relationship has matured from historical solidarity into a multidimensional strategic partnership spanning trade, development finance, security and global governance. India’s championing of the AU’s G20 seat and the revival of the IAFS process reflect a deliberate elevation of Africa in Indian foreign policy. The central challenge ahead is converting strong headline numbers and goodwill into timely, measurable delivery — distinguishing India’s consultative, capacity-building model from the scale-driven approaches of other partners.