Dear Reader,

Greetings. It is heartening to note that the Indian Government is intensifying its efforts to boost trade with Africa, looking at the continent as a vast market for the export of Indian goods and services. The recently announced Foreign Trade Policy for 2006-07 includes specific incentives to step up exports to Africa. The cover story of the current issue of Indo-African Business focuses on Africa's importance as an emerging market, with the highlights of the Foreign Trade Policy forming as a backdrop. Institutional financing has been a significant factor in expanding Indo-African trade. A striking example is the collaboration between the Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) and Africa's PTA Bank. Dr. Michael Gondwe, President of the PTA Bank, believes that India and Exim Bank have a major role to play in Africa's development. We carry a detailed interview of Dr. Gondwe, who estimates Africa's funding requirements in the next five years at $25 billion. He is hopeful that 25 percent of the amount will come from India. Along with Dr. Gondwe's interview, we carry a brief profile of PTA Bank, which is committed to the cause of promoting private entrepreneurship in Africa. Among the different regions of the continent, West Africa's share in bilateral trade has been growing at a brisk pace. David Sinate analyzes the trend in bilateral trade with West Africa, which exceeded $ 2 billion in 2004-05. He also writes about the significant role the Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) have been playing in fostering co-operation among different regions of the African continent. Exim Bank and its various Lines of Credit (LOCs) have been nurturing the growth of Indian goods and services exports to Africa. P R Dalal gives an analytical account of the LOCs, which add up to one billion dollars. Some of the African Nations have been attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in huge amounts and according to a study by Ernst & Young, South Africa has overtaken India in this respect. Economic progress has a direct bearing on real estate prices, especially commercial properties as the trend in South Africa indicates. Nigeria, the oil-rich African country, is planning to invest $22 billion in upstream oil and gas projects. We carry a report. The 14th Summit of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) heads of state took place recently in Khartoum, where its CEO, Firmino Mucavele, presented a report. We carry the NEPAD developments in detail. The issue's tourism focus is on Nigeria, where the nature's beauty is in its diversity. Also included are the French versions of the important articles.
Wish you happy reading

 

Satya Swaroop
Managing Editor
satya@newmediacomm.biz