"Africa is rising, India is betting on Africa's rise": Jaishankar

Jan 24, 2024

Abuja [Nigeria], January 24 (ANI): Lauding its upward trajectory in terms of aspirations, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar emphasized that India is placing its bets on Africa's growth due to the abundant opportunities presented by its demography and resources. In his address to the Nigeria-India Business Council (NIBC) in Abuja today, Jaishankar said, "Now, having spoken about India-Nigeria, let me make a larger point in respect of Africa. Africa is rising, and India is betting on Africa's rise." "We are betting on Africa's rise because, by any objective assessment, today there is so much growing for Africa in terms of demography, in terms of resources, in terms of ambition, in terms of, increasingly, of policy alignments. That potent, a very different, much more positive future in the very short term," he underlined. The External Affairs Minister further stated that India is also betting on Africa, as both the nations share a history that has engendered an enormous solidarity. He asserted that for India, the multipolarity of the world will not be complete until Africa takes its due place. The EAM said, "Now, we are betting on Africa because, as the president of NIBC reminded us, we have a shared past, not always a happy history, not between us, but between us and some other people. But it is a history which has engendered an enormous solidarity."