New Delhi: India will host the five-day annual meeting of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Gandhinagar on May 23.

This is the first time that AfDB is holding its annual meeting in India with a view to bolstering ties.

The meeting, on May 22-26, is the largest event of the Bank, which would witness about 3,000 delegates from 81 member countries converging at the Mahatma Mandir convention centre in the capital of Gujarat.

“Prime Minister will inaugurate the meeting and our Finance Minister chairing the meeting of board of governors.

Besides, Minister of State for Finance and HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar and Power Minister Piyush Goyal will also be participating,” Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das said.

Africa-India bilateral trade has multiplied over the last several years, he said, adding that India-Africa trade reached USD 72 billion in 2014-15.

India is the fifth largest FDI source and it is to the tune of USD 54 billion, he said, adding as many as 67 large Indian companies have already confirmed their participation for the meet.

He further said the core theme is ‘Transforming Agriculture for wealth creation in Africa’.

During the course of the event, the board of governors of the Bank will meet to dwell on major developmental challenges facing the African countries and the ways to achieve an inclusive and sustainable growth.

AfDB has adopted a strategy called “High 5s”, which focuses on five major developmental priorities comprising agriculture, energy, industrialisation, regional connectivity, and improved quality of life through access to social and economic opportunities.

During the India Africa Forum Summit 2015, the announcement of a USD 10 billion line of credit by the prime minister marked a new beginning in India’s approach to engage with African countries in a more constructive manner.

India’s support through lines of credit have not only helped finance the projects in African countries, but have contributed to capacity building, IT and higher education, he said.

“The Lines of Credit (LoC), executed through Exim Bank, has 152 operative LOCs to Africa extended to 44 countries and amounting to USD 7.60 billion. Of these, 147 LOCs aggregating to USD 7.51 billionto 41 countries are extended on behalf of, and guaranteed by Government of India,” he said.

“While annual meetings of the Bank this year would be another opportunity to discuss the issues facing the regional member countries, India would seek to leverage this occasion to further deepen our economic cooperation with the African countries through various other events that have been planned,” the statement read.

The central government is organising an Africa India Cooperation Event on the sidelines of the main event. The sessions will primarily focus on agriculture, healthcare, e- governance, renewable energy, skill development and education, trade and investment, and manufacturing.

The government is also holding an exhibition during the annual meetings of the Bank with an objective to showcase the capabilities of Indian companies in terms of technology, innovation, and start-ups, which could be relevant for African countries.

India joined the African Development Fund (ADF) in 1982 and the AfDB in 1983, starting a long history of cooperation spanning over 30 years.

India’s collaboration with the Bank Group is built around three main pillars: contributions to the General Capital Increase (GCI), contributions to ADF replenishment and a bilateral trust fund, and providing resources to support highly indebted poor countries and the Multilateral Debt Reduction Initiative.

“Since joining the Bank, India has contributed to all of its General Capital Increases. For the most recent African Development Fund replenishment, ADF-14 (2017-19) India pledged USD 14.5 million each as a grant and a bridge loan in November 2016,” he said.

Under the India Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme, around 5000 scholarships have been offered to officials from African countries, he said.

The ITEC courses have been hugely popular with our partner countries in Africa, he said, adding, in last financial year around 4000 scholarships were used by African partners.

– Agency