Indian President Ram Nath Kovind kicked off his West African tour on Sunday, July 28. he plans to visit Benin, Gambia and Guinea for the first time. His visit starts in Benin. About 1250 Indians live in the country. More than 230 Indian companies operate in sectors such as textiles, cashews, rice and timber.
The Indian head of state is advancing in a terrain hitherto unknown by his government and those of his predecessors. An important political gesture that aims to forge international relations between India and the countries of West Africa. Through this visit, the Indian government is looking for opportunities to move closer to West African countries.
This trip is the culmination of many initiatives, such as the India-Africa Mega Summit in September 2015, which brought together many African Heads of State in New Delhi, the capital of India. The meeting was aimed essentially at strengthening the multilateral cooperation relations between Ram Nath Kovind’s government and those of African countries at the political, diplomatic or economic level.
The arrival of the Indian president in Africa is to conquer the economic market to billions of consumers by 2050. But it also aims to participate more in the growth of contracts already signed such as university cooperation with the grant of 50 000 scholarships to African students living in India and the strengthening of the distance learning network established since 2009 between India and the African countries concerned.
In this perspective, New Delhi has made a diplomatic commitment to strengthen its presence on the continent by opening 18 new embassies, including 7 in West Africa.
