Indian PM’s strategy for Africa ties

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who leaves on a six-day tour of Africa today, will focus on capacity building and skill transfer, trade and infrastructure development to strengthen ties with allies on the continent, reports the Indian Express.

The paper quotes official sources as saying India has a lot of catching up to do if it wants to re-establish historical ties with Africa and compete with China's massive spending on infrastructure development on the continent.

Meanwhile, India Today points out, In 2010 China's bilateral trade with Africa, at $115 billion, was more than double Indian-African trade, at $45 billion. China has invested more in Sub-Saharan Africa between 2005 and 2010 than in either the US or Europe. And India's largest investments continue to be in the West, not Africa, the magazine said.

While China has primarily focused on tapping Africa's wealth in natural resources, India hopes to compete by maintaining a "more benign" presence, the Indian Express quoted officials as saying.