U.S. lauds India's model of engaging Africa

Washington: The U.S. has lauded India's model of encouraging growth in Africa as the two countries gear up to collaborate in the 53-nation continent's agricultural sector. "The India model for encouraging growth in Africa is very impressive," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake said in Washington Thursday. He described as "momentous" Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's two-nation trip to Africa that included visits to Ethiopia and Tanzania. "Prime Minister Singh undertook a momentous trip to Africa several weeks ago, where he pledged over $5 billion dollars in development deals, encouraged counter-terrorism cooperation and pledged to create an India-Africa Institute of Agriculture and Rural Development," Blake said. India and Africa held their second forum summit in Addis Ababa May 24-25 where New Delhi pledged $5.7 billion for setting up over 80 training institutes and a host of capacity building initiatives across the African continent. The second summit also distinguished India's development-centric approach towards the African continent that revolves around trade, training and human resource development. During U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to India last November, India and the U.S. agreed to collaborate in areas of agriculture and food security on the one hand and to partner in the anti-poverty drive on the other. Since then, the two sides have held one round of talks on Africa to carry forward the dialogue. The two sides are expected to hold another round of consultations on Africa later this year.