Africa–India relations (also referred to as Indo-African relations or Afro-Indian relations) are the historical, political, economic, and cultural connections between

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and the

African continent Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. Historical relations concerned mainly India and

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

. However, in modern days—and with the expansion of diplomatic and commercial representations— India has now developed ties with most of the African nations. Trade between India & Africa stood at US$62.66 billion (2017–18) making India the fourth largest trading partner of Africa.

Historical background

Africa and India are connected by the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

. The geographical proximity between the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

and the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

has played an important role in the development of the relationship since ancient times.

Ancient trade relations

Indo-African relations date back to the Bronze Age period of the

Indus Valley civilization The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation, was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form from 2600 BCE ...

Pearl millet Pearl millet (''Cenchrus americanus'', commonly known as the synonym ''Pennisetum glaucum'') is the most widely grown type of millet. It has been grown in Africa and the Indian subcontinent since prehistoric times. The center of diversity, and ...

first domesticated in Africa have been discovered from the site of Chanhu Daro and there is at least one burial of African women from the same site as well, it is thus postulated that Indus valley maritime activities included journey to the horn of Africa and bringing back African crops along with African diaspora to the Indus valley since Pearl millet was cultivated in South Asia since 2nd millennium BC but there is no such evidence from the Near East. Black peppercorns were found stuffed in the nostrils of

Ramesses II Ramesses II (sometimes written Ramses or Rameses) (; , , ; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was an Pharaoh, Egyptian pharaoh. He was the third ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth Dynasty. Along with Thutmose III of th ...

, placed there as part of the

mummification A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furt ...

rituals shortly after his death in 1213 BCE. In the 2nd century BC the Greek's accounts of Ptolmaic Egypt and its trade relations mention Indian ships making the trip and Greeks began to utilize this knowledge from Indian sailors to conduct maritime activities in the Indian Ocean and conduct business with the Indians directly instead of relying on the middle men, when Romans replaced the Greek administration in Egypt, this began a 400-year period of trade relations between the Roman Empire and India. '' Periplus Maris Erythraei'' (''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea''),—which dates to mid-first century—refers to trade relations between the

Kingdom of Aksum The Kingdom of Aksum, or the Aksumite Empire, was a kingdom in East Africa and South Arabia from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, based in what is now northern Ethiopia and Eritrea, and spanning present-day Djibouti and Sudan. Emerging ...

and

Ancient India Anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. The earliest known human remains in South Asia date to 30,000 years ago. Sedentism, Sedentariness began in South Asia around 7000 BCE; ...

around the first millennium. Helped by the

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

winds, merchants traded

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

glass bead "Glass Bead" () is the debut single by South Korean girl group GFriend. It was released by Source Music on January 15, 2015, as the lead single of their debut extended play, ''Season of Glass'' (2015). Written and produced by Iggy and Youngbae, ...

s and other goods in exchange for

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

and soft-carved ivory. The influence of the

Indian architecture Indian architecture is rooted in the History of India, history, Culture of India, culture, and Indian religions, religion of India. Among several architectural styles and traditions, the best-known include the many varieties of Hindu temple a ...

on the African kingdom shows the level of trade development between the two civilizations. Under Ptolemaic rule, Ancient Egypt dispatched two trade delegations to India. The Greek Ptolemaic dynasty and India had developed bilateral trade using the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

and Indian ports.Shaw 2003: page 426 Controlling the western and northern end of other trade routes to

Southern Arabia South Arabia (), or Greater Yemen, is a historical region that consists of the southern region of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia, mainly centered in what is now the Republic of Yemen, yet it has also historically included Najran, Jazan, ...

and India,Potter 2004: page 20 the Ptolemies had begun to exploit trading opportunities with India prior to the Roman involvement but according to the historian

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

the volume of commerce between India and Greece was not comparable to that of later Indian-Roman trade.Young 2001: page 19 The ''Periplus Maris Erythraei'' mentions a time when sea trade between India and Egypt did not involve direct sailings. The cargo under these situations was shipped to

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

: The trade started by

Eudoxus of Cyzicus Eudoxus of Cyzicus ( ; ; ) was a Greek navigator and diplomat who explored the Arabian Sea for Ptolemy VIII, king of the Hellenistic Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. Voyages to India According to Poseidonius, later reported in Strabo's ''Geography ...

in 130 BCE kept increasing, and according to Strabo (II.5.12.): In India, the ports of

Barbaricum Barbaricum (from the , "foreign", "barbarian") is a geographical name used by historical and archaeological experts to refer to the vast area of barbarian-occupied territory that lay, in Roman times, beyond the frontiers or '' limes'' of the Rom ...

(modern

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

), Barygaza,

Muziris ''Muciṟi'' (, ), commonly anglicized as Muziris (, Malayalam, Old Malayalam: ''Muciṟi'' or ''Muciṟipaṭṭaṇam'', possibly identical with the medieval ''Muyiṟikkōṭŭ'') was an ancient harbour and urban centre on India's Malabar C ...

, Korkai, Kaveripattinam and Arikamedu on the southern tip of India were the main centers of this trade. The ''Periplus Maris Erythraei'' describes Greco-Roman merchants selling in Barbaricum "thin clothing, figured linens,

topaz Topaz is a silicate mineral made of aluminium, aluminum and fluorine with the chemical formula aluminium, Alsilicon, Sioxygen, O(fluorine, F, hydroxide, OH). It is used as a gemstone in jewelry and other adornments. Common topaz in its natural ...

coral Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...

storax Storax (; , ''stúrax''), often commercially sold as styrax, is a natural fragrant resin isolated from the wounded bark of ''Liquidambar orientalis'' Mill. (Asia Minor) and ''Liquidambar styraciflua'' L. (Eastern US, Mexico, Central America) (A ...

frankincense Frankincense, also known as olibanum (), is an Aroma compound, aromatic resin used in incense and perfumes, obtained from trees of the genus ''Boswellia'' in the family (biology), family Burseraceae. The word is from Old French ('high-quality in ...

, vessels of glass, and silver and gold plate" in exchange for " costus,

bdellium Bdellium (also bdellion or false myrrh) is a semi-transparent oleo-gum resin extracted from '' Commiphora wightii'' plants, and from '' Commiphora africana'' trees growing in sub-saharan Africa. According to Pliny the best quality came from Bact ...

lycium ''Lycium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The genus has a disjunct distribution around the globe, with species occurring on most continents in temperate and subtropical regions. South America has the most spec ...

, nard,

turquoise Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrous phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula . It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gemstone for millennia due to its hue. The robi ...

lapis lazuli Lapis lazuli (; ), or lapis for short, is a deep-blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense color. Originating from the Persian word for the gem, ''lāžward'', lapis lazuli is ...

, Seric skins, cotton cloth,

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

yarn, and

indigo InterGlobe Aviation Limited (d/b/a IndiGo), is an India, Indian airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It is the largest List of airlines of India, airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 64.1% domestic market ...

".Periplus Maris Erythraei In Barygaza, they would buy wheat, rice, sesame oil, cotton and cloth. With the establishment of

Roman Egypt Roman Egypt was an imperial province of the Roman Empire from 30 BC to AD 642. The province encompassed most of modern-day Egypt except for the Sinai. It was bordered by the provinces of Crete and Cyrenaica to the west and Judaea, ...

, the Romans took over and further developed the already existing trade. Roman trade with India played an important role in further developing the Red Sea route. Starting around 100 BCE a route from Roman Egypt to India was established, making use of the Red Sea to cross the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

directly to

southern India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

. Traces of Indian influences are visible in Roman works of silver and ivory, or in Egyptian cotton and silk fabrics.Lach 1994: page 18 The Indian presence in Alexandria may have influenced the culture but little is known about the manner of this influence.

Clement of Alexandria Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria (; – ), was a Christian theology, Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen and Alexander of Jerusalem. A ...

mentions the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

in his writings and other

Indian religion Indian religions, sometimes also termed Dharmic religions or Indic religions, are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent. These religions, which include Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism,Adams, C. J."Classification o ...

s find mentions in other texts of the period. Blanche D'Souza states that Hindus had, by 1st millennium AD, begun using monsoon-led trade winds to establish trading activities between western parts of India and Mozambique, linking these to other eastern coastal regions of Africa and Arabian peninsula.

Medieval period relations

Relations attained stronger levels during

medieval times In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and t ...

due to the development of

trade route A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. The term can also be used to refer to trade over land or water. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a singl ...

s between the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, through

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

(see also:

Indo-Mediterranean The Indo-Mediterranean is the region comprising the Mediterranean world, the Indian Ocean world, and their connecting regions in the vicinity of the Suez Canal. History Prehistory From around 3000 BCE to 1000 CE, connectivity within Afro-Eu ...

). The Islamic conquest of Indian subcontinent also further deepened relations with

Islamic states The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signif ...

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

Zheng He Zheng He (also romanized Cheng Ho; 1371–1433/1435) was a Chinese eunuch, admiral and diplomat from the early Ming dynasty, who is often regarded as the greatest admiral in History of China, Chinese history. Born into a Muslims, Muslim famil ...

, a Chinese admiral met with the

Malindi Malindi is a town on Malindi Bay at the mouth of the Sabaki River, lying on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It is 120 kilometres northeast of Mombasa. The population of Malindi was 119,859 as of the 2019 census. It is the largest urban centr ...

envoy present in

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

. The Malindi traders had brought tribute of

Giraffe The giraffe is a large Fauna of Africa, African even-toed ungulate, hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa.'' It is the Largest mammals#Even-toed Ungulates (Artiodactyla), tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on ...

for the Bengal sultan, so they gave one to the Chinese as well. Indian Hindu traders were reportedly present according to the records of

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

in the south eastern African coast of

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

African heritage in India

Aside from the aforementioned Aksumite trade with India, the documented presence of Africans in India dates back to the eighth century CE. These was due to slave trade in the Indian Ocean, where non-Muslim enslaved Africans, who were sold to India to mainly to serve as

eunuch A eunuch ( , ) is a male who has been castration, castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2 ...

bodyguards of high-ranking Muslim officials & their

harems A harem is a domestic space that is reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic Domestic worker, servants, and other un ...

(quarters for Muslim concubines & enslaved Hindu women) &

zenana Zenana (, "of the women" or "pertaining to women"; ; ; ) is the part of a house belonging to a Muslim family in the Indian subcontinent, which is reserved for the women of the household. The zenana was a product of Indo-Islamic culture and was ...

s were freed from slavery by their owners and appointed in high offices after converting to Islam. Several Africans played an important role in different Indian dynasties. The first Habshi, of whom there is a historical record, was probably Jamal al-Din Yaqut, royal courtier in the

Sultanate of Delhi The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries.

, in the north of the sub-continent. Habshis were also reported in the interior of northern India.

Ibn Battuta Ibn Battuta (; 24 February 13041368/1369), was a Maghrebi traveller, explorer and scholar. Over a period of 30 years from 1325 to 1354, he visited much of Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Iberian Peninsula. Near the end of his life, Ibn ...

recalls that at Alapur, the Governor was the Abyssinian Badr. A man whose bravery passed into a proverb. Some of the Africans who rose to positions of considerable importance were:

Malik Ambar Malik Ambar (1548–1626) was a military leader and statesman who served as the Peshwa (Prime Minister) of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate and its ''de facto'' ruler from 1600 until his death in 1626. Originally a slave from modern day Ethiopia, ''C ...

Malik Sarwar Sultan-ush-Sharq Atabak-i-Azam Malik Sarwar was the first sultan of the Jaunpur Sultanate and the founder of the Sharqi dynasty. Early life Malik Sarwar was an eunuch of common birth, possibly a slave of African descent, in the Delhi Sultanate. ...

, Mubarak Shah, Ibrahim Shah, Malik Andil, Malik Sandal, Yaqut Dabuli Habshi, Ikhlas Khan,

Dilawar Khan Dilawar Khan () was an Afghan or Turco-Afghan governor of the Malwa province of Central India appointed by the Delhi Sultan in 1392 and he later became the first Sultan of the Malwa Sultanate during the decline of the Delhi Sultanate. Afte ...

, Khavass Khan etc. Many formerly enslaved African Muslims also rose up the ranks to become

Sultans Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

in areas like

, Jaunpur &

Malwa Malwa () is a historical region, historical list of regions in India, region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic plateau, volcanic upland north of the ...

. Their role in the History of India is Significant. The Africans, who arrived in

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

apart from playing their traditional role as bonded guards and servants, were recruited as the

Nizam Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad State ( part of the Indian state of Telangana, and the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka). ''Nizam'' is a shortened form of (; ), and was the title bestowed upon Asaf Jah I ...

's private bodyguard. The Siddi Risala (African Regiment) was retained until 1948. Other Siddis were elevated to the status of Khanazahs (proteges) and became trusted advisers of the Nizams.

Under the rule of the British Empire

During the

British colonial rule The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts establish ...

in the Indian Subcontinent and large parts of Africa, the Indian city of

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

was already a center of

ivory trade The ivory trade is the commercial, often illegal trade in the ivory tusks of the hippopotamus, walrus, narwhal, black and white rhinos, mammoth, and most commonly, African elephant, African and Asian elephants. Ivory has been traded for hundred ...

between

and

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

. The stay of Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa between 1893 and 1915 remains one of the main events which paved the road to the modern-day political relations.

Modern-day relations

Political

The development of modern-day relations has gone through two main periods. During the period of

colonialism Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...

and liberation wars, political relations became stronger. At the wake of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, many African countries joined the

non-aligned movement The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 121 countries that Non-belligerent, are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. It was founded with the view to advancing interests of developing countries in the context of Cold W ...

pioneered by

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

and

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. During the years of decolonisation, India exerted considerable political and ideological influence in Africa as a role model and a leader of the Non-Aligned Movement. But India's ability to develop a broader strategic role in Africa during the 20th century was subject to several constraints. India's influence was limited by financial weakness and inward-looking economic policies. Its commitment to decolonisation through nonviolent means made it relatively reluctant to provide military assistance to national liberation movements. India's role in East Africa was also constrained by the large Indian ethnic population that was often resented by black African nationalists. The most famous case of

Indophobia Anti-Indian sentiment or anti-Indianism, also called Indophobia, refers to prejudice, collective hatred, and discrimination which is directed at Indian people for any variety of reasons. According to Kenyan-American academic Ali Mazrui, Indo ...

is the

ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, or religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making the society ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal such as deportation or population transfer, it ...

of Indians and other

South Asian South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

s in

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 30 May 192816 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 until Uganda–Tanzania War, his overthrow in 1979. He ruled as a Military dictatorship, ...

. The India-Africa Forum Summit, which was held from April 4 to April 8, 2008 in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

, India for the first time, constitutes the basic framework for the relations under the South-South Cooperation platform. In July 2019, Finance Minister

Nirmala Sitharaman Nirmala Sitharaman (born 18 August 1959) is an Indian economist, politician and a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) serving as the Minister of Finance and Minister of Corporate Affairs of the Government of India since 2019. ...

announced that India would open embassies in 18 African countries. This would result in Indian embassies being located in 47 of 54 African countries. Five new embassies were opened in Rwanda, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Guinea and Burkina Faso in 2018-19, and eight new embassies were opened in Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Eswatini, Sierra Leone,

São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is an island country in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two archipelagos around the two main isla ...

, Togo and Liberia in 2019-20. The other 5 new embassies will be opened in Cape Verde, Chad, Guinea Bissau, Mauritania, and Somalia. There are numerous of Indians and Africans of Indian descent living in Africa, mainly in the eastern and southern coast in places such as

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. There are at least 40,000 Africans in India.

Business

Trade between India & Africa has grown exponentially during the past 15 years. Indo-African trade volume reached US$53.3 billion in 2010-11 & US$62 billion in 2011–12. It is US$90 billion by 2015. Moreover, Indian firms are conducting numerous takeovers abroad and are venturing into Africa, such as in June 2008,

Bharti Airtel Bharti Airtel Limited is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational Telecommunications in India, telecommunications company based in New Delhi. It operates in 18 countries across South Asia and Africa, as well as the Channel Islands. ...

, an Indian telecommunications giant, purchased Zain Africa for US$9 billion. As of 2015, India has emerged as Africa's fourth largest trade partner behind China, EU & USA whilst Africa has emerged as India's sixth largest trading partner behind EU, China, UAE, USA & ASEAN. This volume was at a meager US$3 billion in 2001. In November 2012

FICCI The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group based in India. History Established in 1927, on the advice of Mahatma Gandhi by Indian businessman G.D. Birla a ...

President led a business delegation to Ethiopia to meet the new Prime Minister

Hailemariam Desalegn Hailemariam Desalegn Boshe (; born 19 July 1965) is an Ethiopian politician who served as Prime Minister of Ethiopia, prime minister of Ethiopia from 2012 to 2018. He also previously served as deputy prime minister and Ministry of Foreign Affair ...

and reaffirm India's commitment to the growth and development of Africa. Indian companies have already invested more than US$34 billion in the resource-rich continent as of 2011 & further investments worth US$59.7 billion are in the pipeline. Among the proposals that CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) received from the African nations are 126 agricultural projects worth an investment of $4.74 billion, 177 infrastructure projects worth $34.19 billion, and 34 energy sector plans costing $20.74 billion (337 projects totalling US$59.7 billion). Ex-Prime Minister of India,

Dr.Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (26 September 1932 – 26 December 2024) was an Indian economist, bureaucrat, academician, and statesman, who served as the prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He was the fourth longest-serving prime minister after Jaw ...

while expressing his country's support to Africa, said in an Indo-African trade summit that "Africa possesses all the prerequisites to become a major growth pole of the world in the 21st century. We will work with Africa to enable it to realise this potential". The Indian government has promised to extend loans worth US$5.4 billion (during 2011–14) to several African nations in order to nurture growth in those nations. According to

Rejaul Karim Laskar Rejaul Karim Laskar is an Indian politician and scholar of India's foreign policy. He is a former Congress ideologue and has written extensively on the policies of the United Progressive Alliance governments. He is also an eminent scholar of In ...

, a scholar of India's foreign policy, "the African countries are presently at such a stage of development when India can offer the most appropriate technology at competitive prices".

India–Africa Forum Summit

The India–Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) is the official platform for African-Indian relations. The IAFS is held once in every three years. It was first held from April 4 to April 8, 2008 in New Delhi, and was the first such meeting between the heads of state and government of India and 14 countries of Africa chosen by the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...

Indian foreign aid to Africa

In 2006, India launched its flagship aid initiative in Africa by constructing the $125 million Pan-African e-Network, the continent's largest tele-education and telemedicine initiative. The network links 47 African countries with schools and hospitals in India through satellite and fiber-optic links. At the second India–Africa Forum Summit in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

in 2011, then Indian Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (26 September 1932 – 26 December 2024) was an Indian economist, bureaucrat, academician, and statesman, who served as the prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He was the fourth longest-serving prime minister after Jaw ...

expressed India's desire to help African nations with their development needs. Singh announced that India would invest $700 million to establish educational institutions and training programs in several African countries, including

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

and

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

. The Prime Minister also announced $5 billion in lines of credit for African nations. India made further commitments to Africa at the third India-Africa Forum Summit in 2014. India allocated $43 million or 7% of its technical cooperation budget to African countries in 2012–13, a 4% increase over the previous fiscal. India budgeted $63 million in aid to African countries in 2014–15, less than 5% of its total foreign aid budget and slightly higher than the previous fiscal.

Cultural relations

Africa-lndia Cultural Diplomacy

Indian cinema has played a significant role in Africa, connecting communities with Indian culture through films that offer insights into social values, fashion, and cuisine, which has become an important aspect of the soft power of India in Africa. The

Indian diaspora in Africa Migration from India into Africa pre-dates European colonization. The number of Indians in Africa increased greatly with the settlement of Indians in Africa as indentured servants during colonization, and has continued to increase into the 21st cen ...

, spanning 46 countries and representing a significant portion of India's total diaspora, plays a crucial role in enhancing bilateral relations and shaping Africa-India cultural connections through substantial investments and involvement in cultural programs and sectors of governance. India's cultural diplomacy is also reflected in its spread of Yoga and Ayush practices, with initiatives like the International Day of Yoga strengthening cultural ties and enhancing bilateral relations, exemplifying the soft power of India in Africa.

Sports

British colonisation gave India and Africa new sporting ties, such as through

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

. The colonial era also saw the Indian sport kho kho come to South Africa.

Notes

External links

Focus Africa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Africa-India relations