Jaishankar on 5-day visit to Africa to strengthen trade and investment ties

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit Ghana, Ethiopia and Côte d'Ivoire, with talks set to focus on trade, investment, critical minerals and development cooperation

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar (left) arrived in Accra, Ghana, and was welcomed by Ghana's Foreign Minister Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa | Photo: X/@DrSJaishankar

Archis Mohan New Delhi

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External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday left for a five-day visit to three African countries to further strengthen India’s trade and economic links, explore cooperation in infrastructure development, and enhance development cooperation and capacity building with these countries. Jaishankar will visit Ghana, Ethiopia, and Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), all of which are expanding their mining sector to focus on critical minerals in addition to gold extraction.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Jaishankar’s visit reflected India’s commitment to deepen its partnership with Africa, and bolster the country’s solidarity with the Global South. He will also discuss the impact of the West Asian and Russia-Ukraine conflicts on food, fuel, fertilisers and finance, or “4F”. In recent weeks, Jaishankar has consistently highlighted challenges that the Global South is set to face regarding its food and fuel security.

Announcing Jaishankar’s visit to Ghana, its foreign minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said in a post on X on Monday that discussions between the two sides will focus on pharmaceutical development, agricultural mechanisation and value addition, industrialisation and job creation, as well as scholarships and information technology partnerships.

Ablakwa said cooperation in the pharmaceutical sector will take place within the framework of Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama’s Accra Reset policy. Its objective is to reduce Ghana's aid dependency, bolster local industrial capacity, and increase domestic value addition to minerals and agriculture. Ghana is also looking to expand the country’s access to markets under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

India is among the top trading partners of Ghana and the largest destination for Ghanaian exports. Ghana has a positive trade balance with India, mainly due to huge imports of gold by India which accounts for over 70 per cent of total imports from Ghana.

From Côte d’Ivoire, India imports cashews, natural rubber, cotton, and teak wood. From Ethiopia, India imports pulses, flax yarn, precious and semiprecious stones, vegetables, lead articles, oil seeds, spices and leather. There are a number of Indian companies in Ethiopia, and several Ethiopian companies engage Indian workers.

In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Jaishankar will also chair the Regional Heads of Mission Conference that is expected to be attended by Indian envoys in the region. New Delhi’s Africa outreach comes months after it postponed the fourth India-Africa Summit, which was slated for May, because of the evolving public health situation in parts of Africa.