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Published 1st February 2008

Vol 1 (AAC) No 4


Delhi reaches out

Image courtesy of Panos Pictures
Image courtesy of Panos Pictures

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An all encompassing agenda for a summit in April shows India’s determination to strengthen relations with Africa

India is seeking to carve out a distinct relationship with Africa, as part of a new competition for resources and diplomatic support, Foreign Ministry officials in New Delhi have said, as they announced details of plans for an unprecedented summit with African leaders in April. Officials describe the four-day summit, culminating in a meeting with heads of state and government from 14 African states on 8 April as a ‘fresh honeymoon’ to ‘consummate’ an action plan for a new partnership. Leaders of key African states, including resource-rich Algeria, Nigeria, South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo, have pledged to attend. The other attendees will be Burkina Faso, Egypt, Ghana, Libya, Morocco, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.


India's nuclear family

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Trying to skirt international treaty obligations, India is making a big move in African uranium

Faced with a uranium shortage at home, Indian companies are beginning to looking to African uranium producers to meet the country’s civilian and military needs, according to industry sources....


Year of the rat

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The Chinese government has been arming two archenemies, the governments of Chad and Sudan, who are in effect at war

Chinese peacekeepers in Southern Sudan have been awarded United Nations Peacekeeping Medals two months early to coincide with the Lunar New Year Spring Festival, celebrated on 7 February. Events in Chad...


Any more business?

Ghana has developed close ties with China, but ones that contrast with those enjoyed by other African states

The new Defence Ministry building in Accra is under construction by Chinese contractors. Chinese companies built the Tamale and Sekondi stadiums, which were used in February’s 2008 African...


How to spend it

Asian funds offer a source of credit to Africa and companies there

Debate in Europe and the United States over the power of Asia’s sovereign wealth funds has increased sharply in the wake of the current subprime mortgage crisis. Such funds, which have...


The water margin

Chinese companies are building dams and hydroelectric plants across Africa, just as the continent’s energy crisis begins to bite

A combination of strong economic growth and institutional neglect of investment in infrastructure has created a serious problem: South Africa, the continent’s largest and most developed economy, is running...


Asia’s pills for Africa’s ills

Asia’s pharmaceutical companies want to expand their African presence but must tackle distribution and fraud problems first

The pharmaceutical landscape in Africa has changed dramatically in the last decade. From a largely European import base complemented by nascent but often problematic indigenous manufacture, it is...



Pointers

Jean Ping

African Union Chairperson and Gabon's Foreign Affairs Minister

The career of Gabon’s consummate diplomat owes its success less to the impact he made as President of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2004-05 than his accomplishments as head...


Murli Deora

Former Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology, India


Suppiah Dhanabalan

Chairman, Temasek Holdings and DBS

In the elite circles of Singaporean business, certain names frequently recur. Suppiah ‘S’ Dhanabalan, Chairman of Temasek Holdings, the investment arm of the Singapore government, is one of them....


Lou Jiwei

Chairman, China Investment Corporation