India and the United States hold second round of talks on Africa in Washington

May 15 :
Efforts to deepen relations and work together on African development projects have resumed with the second round of the India-US Dialogue on Africa having begun in Washington DC, according to an official statement from the Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. Both the Indian and American delegations sent high-ranking representatives to the May 14–15 dialogue; the former was headed by Puneet R. Kundal, AS (E&SA) and the latter by Sevala N. Mude, AS (C&WA), while the latter was commanded by Mary Catherine Phee, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs.

In order to work together on African development initiatives and programmes, the principal goal of the India-US conversation on the continent is to promote the sharing of ideas and viewpoints, with an emphasis on building institutional, technical, and bilateral synergies. The goal of the conversation is to find common ground between the US and Africa by utilising the best of both countries' strengths. In order to better collaborate on Africa, the India-US dialogue is seeking to exchange viewpoints and ideas while also investigating potential avenues for institutional, technical, and bilateral synergies. A statement from the ministry stated that it also aims to identify developmental projects and cooperation programmes in Africa, utilising the strengths of both India and the US, in line with African goals.

With the African Union's admission as a permanent member of the G20 during India’s presidency of the G20, this conversation represents a noteworthy milestone as the first such engagement between the US and India. This acknowledgment shows that the United States and India are serious about having a substantial impact on the African continent, which is becoming an increasingly important player on the international scene.

India and the US have worked together on several African development initiatives in the fields of agriculture, health, education, and energy. Feed the Future India's Africa Innovation Transfer Platform collaborates with Technoserve to disseminate Indian practices for water and soil management to Malawi and Kenya, for instance. With the use of these methods, locals have been able to increase their crop yields during the off-season, hydrate their cattle, and cultivate more fodder crops.