Seychelles has welcomed new framework of cooperation adopted at the end of the third India-Africa summit

Seychelles Foreign Affairs and Transport Minister Joel Morgan representing President James Michel at the India-Africa Summit in New Delhi. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Transport)

(Seychelles News Agency) - Seychelles has described the third India-Africa Summit held in New Delhi on Thursday, as an opportunity for the two sides to take stock of what has been achieved, challenges being faced and what lies ahead in building the India-Africa partnership.

The gathering had brought together representatives of all African countries including over 40 Heads of Government.The island nation’s President James Michel was represented by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Transport Joel Morgan. 

The 2015 India-Africa Summit was themed “Partners in Progress: Towards a dynamic and Transformative Development Agenda”.

According to a press statement issued by the Seychelles Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Transport on Friday, the island nation’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Barry Faure, addressed a meeting of Foreign Ministers ahead of the summit.

Trade, climate change, security and the blue economy being areas of importance to Seychelles and areas in which cooperation exist between the Indian Ocean archipelago and India, were also the main focus of his intervention.

When addressing the issue of Climate Change, Faure called for "a new dynamism in south-south cooperation" to "face up to the global challenges that are threatening our collective futures."

"It doesn't take much to connect the dots and see that the majority of the problems and environmental disasters we are facing today can be traced back to the continued abuse of our planet. It certainly doesn't take much to see who is going to pay the price. We are. And our future generation if the matter is not addressed in a collective and very holistic manner," said Faure who spoke on behalf of the Seychelles foreign affairs Minister Joël Morgan.

He also highlighted the implementation of a newly-revised India-Africa Framework of Cooperation which he described as “timely.”

The India-Africa Framework of Cooperation is in fact one of two documents adopted at the end of the 2015 summit.

"…It has allowed us the opportunity to refocus our collaborative efforts on key areas of our African development aspirations, articulated through the Agenda 2063 [global and inclusive African strategy which implies using resources on the continent for the benefit of all Africans within the next 50 years], to areas where India enjoys a unique position of expertise and comparative advantage,” said Faure.

The second document which world leaders attending the gathering have adopted is the Delhi Declaration.

Both documents are aimed at charting a new course of engagement in diverse areas including defence, security, trade and infrastructure development, climate change technology among others.

The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also used the opportunity to announce funding worth $600 million for development projects in Africa, as well as a concessional credit of $10 billion to the continent in the next five years.

Created as a platform for cooperation between India and African states under the aegis of the African Union, the India-Africa summit first took place in 2008 in New Delhi, followed by a second session in Addis Ababa in 2011.

The 2015 edition of the gathering has reaffirmed the commitments of both sides to continue to work closely on issues of mutual interests and mutual benefits.

According to an article published by the AFP, India's bilateral trade with Africa has more than doubled since 2007 to $72 billion over the last year although this is viewed as relatively small when compared to China’s bilateral trade with the continent which is said to have reached $200 billion last year.