From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Sat Aug 30 2008 - 00:06:40 EDT
India-Africa conclave discusses trade...
2008-08-29 10:04:35
By Patrick Kisembo
The eighth India-Africa Conclave on project partnership and trade held
in Dar es Salaam yesterday highlighted a bleak background of trade
imbalances between India and Tanzania.
Industry, Trade and Marketing minister Dr Mary Nagu officially opened
the meeting, which attracted business delegates from India and over 13
African countries.
The meeting, organized by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII)
with the support of the government of India, was attended by delegates
from Ethiopia, Burundi and Eritrea.
Others came from the Central African Republic, Djibouti, DR Congo,
Kenya, Uganda, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan and India.
Dr Nagu told delegates that trade imbalances between the two friendly
countries had created a wide gap between the two.
She expressed hope that the gap could be bridged if exchange of missions
were encouraged to boost trade and investments on both sides.
According to her, it is through increased economic activities that the
two countries will do away with the existing import and export trade
imbalances.
She called upon Indian businessmen to assist Tanzania in acquiring
appropriate technology that would help her add more value to various
products.
``It is important to recognize that most of what Tanzania can offer is
not processed. We need Indian technology to transform our products by
adding value on them,`` she said.
Earlier on, the minister said Tanzania was currently eyeing to trading
with India and China to get rid of an experience that African countries
were only to trade with their former colonizers.
The head of the Indian delegation to the Conclave, Anand Sharma, who is
the Union Minister of State for External Affairs in the government of
India, assured participants that India was ready to work with Africa so
as to ensure a better future for the people of the continent.
``We know the relationship that has existed between India, Tanzania and
Africa in general. It is a genuine relationship that needs to be
maintained and ensured; seeing to it that those resources are equally
shared,`` he said.
Sharma scoffed at industrialized countries for ignoring emerging
economic powerhouses in Asia, Africa and Southern America, cautioning
that the three regions had aspirations and potentially growing
economies.
India has already provided Tanzania with USD 5.4bn for development
purposes and has provided it with duty and quota rights to the Indian
market, thus creating great opportunities for Tanzania businessmen, he
said.
The conclave is a follow-up to another CII Conference that was held in
New Delhi, India in March, this year. Vice-President Dr Ali Mohamed
Shein had an opportunity to officiate the Delhi conclave.
The Indian High Commissioner to Tanzania, K V Bhagirath, said the
conclave was meant to strengthen cooperation between India and Tanzania
in keeping with the decisions made at the India-Africa Forum Summit held
in New Delhi in April, this year.
The Forum summit was co-Chaired by Tanzania`s President Jakaya Kikwete
and the Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh.
SOURCE: Guardian
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