Indian defense minister Rajnath Singh will be visiting Mozambique as a part of India’s strategy to reach out to Africa, which is described as the growth center of the 21st century. The visit scheduled between 28 and 30 July will help cementing the bilateral relationship between India and Mozambique. The Indian defense minister, who will be visiting a foreign country for the first time ever since taking over as the defense minister after the recent general elections, will be accompanied by defense secretary Sanjay Mitra and other senior officials.
Significantly, India will gift Mozambique two fast interceptor boats and 44 military SUVs. Importantly, the two countries will sign memorandum of understanding (MoU’s) on Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZs) surveillance, sharing of information on shipping and hydrography to further strengthen bilateral relations. The visiting Indian delegation will hold discussions with the President, defense minister, foreign minister and interior minister of Mozambique.
It may be recalled that March this year, India has conducted a joint military exercise called “Africa-India field training exercise 2019 (AFRINDEX-2019)”, which included Mozambique along with 18 other countries. India is expecting a lot of cooperation between the two countries, particularly in the field of defense.
Experts are of the opinion that India’s renewed interests in Africa are triggered by geopolitical considerations. Of late, there is a queuing up with offers of investments, trade, economic cooperation from countries like China, US, Russia and some of the European Union countries in the development process of Africa. China’s presence in Africa can be dated back to some two decades or so. The US, which had active involvement in Africa before the cold war, is re-entering the space after a considerable length of time . Russia has realized the utility of engaging Africa in the field of defense and aviation and has pumped a lot of investments in these sectors in Africa.
India has considerably enhanced its economic engagements with countries in Africa. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited many African countries to strengthen the bilateral relations. India has also upped its financial assistance to African countries through credit lines. Indian corporate sector has started actively scouting business opportunities in Africa.
