India woos Africa’s friendship, partnership

One of the main pillars of the India-Africa Forum Summit to promote a people-centred partnership was on full display at the opening ceremony of the third in the series of the one-day summit yesterday.

At various events organised as a prelude to the summit, the speakers stressed that the government-to-government relations that had been forged so far might not yield the desired results if the people and media of both partners were not made of the narratives.

And as if to tell the heads of state and governments from the 54 African countries that unlike the previous two summits the just-ended third summit in Delhi will chart a new path, the Indian government put in place elaborate programmes to engage the people through editors and senior journalists from more than 40 countries.

Yesterday's event was preceded by glamour, pomp and colour to woo Africa's friendship and partnership.

Aside from the resplendent attires of the heads of state and government, some of who spotted their traditional outfits, members of their delegations were not to be outdone by their presidents, prime ministers and ministers.

Cultural displays

The ushers at the magnificent Indira Gandhi Stadium also added colour to the summit in their traditional sari.

But the applause that greeted the entry into the spacious gym of the stadium by a combined cultural group from Africa and India set the stage for a unique event which was opened with a powerful speech by Prime Minister Shri Narenda Modi and another by the Chairman of the African Union (AU), Mr Robert Gabriel Mugabe, who called on African and Indian leaders not to only demand slots on the UN Security Council but secure it with veto powers.

Various choreographies, dance and music were performed by the cultural groups that were greeted with deafening cheers from the delegates.

The choreographies ended with the dancers forming the logo of the summit which was a combination of the two partners — India and Africa — fused, of equal sizes as they both have almost the same population.

Partnership

In the spirit of the people-centred partnership, the External Affairs Minister of India, Mrs Sushma Swaraj, set the tone by quoting an African proverb in her welcome remarks.

"A family is like a forest, when you are outside, it is dense, when you are inside you see that each tree has a place. Today, in a very real sense, we are with our African family.

"This gathering of African heads of state and government is like a family reunion. And I can see how the diversity of Africa matches own, how every flag from Africa has its own special place. So on behalf of 1.25 billion Indians let me welcome you most warmly to New Delhi," she said.

To show to their African friends that Indians understand the culture of their friends, Mrs Swaraj ended her speech with another proverb thus, "If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."

Indian Prime Minister

And in order not to be outdone by his External Affairs Minister, Prime Minister Modi quoted African Nobel laureates to establish the basis for the new partnership and friendship.

According to him, as the great Nigerian Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka insisted "human entity remains the primary asset in overall development".

He said the Egyptian Nobel prize winning writer Naguib Mahfouz said, "Science brings people together with the light of its ideas...and prods us towards a better future."

Prime Minister Modi, who was elated by the massive show of solidarity by the participation of the African leaders, said the fabric of the world was richer because of the 54 sovereign flags of Africa, saying that today, their brilliant colours had made Delhi the most special place in the world.

"Today, it is not just a meeting of India and Africa. Today the dreams of one-third of humanity have come together under one roof. Today, the heartbeat of 1.25 billion Indians and 1.25 billion Africans are in rhythm," he added.