India, Africa should target USD 200 bn trade in next 7 years: Piyush Goyal

There is a huge potential to increase economic cooperation between India and Africa as both regions can look at doubling two-way trade to USD 200 billion in the next seven years, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday. Speaking at CII's India-Africa business conclave, Goyal said the main sectors where businesses of the two sides can collaborate include agriculture, pharmaceuticals, mining, tourism, auto, critical minerals, and renewable energy."

I would like to suggest six areas for collaboration and cooperation as a way forward to take this relationship to the next level," he said, adding, "can we look at doubling our trade. So far we have only a few African countries who trade with India".He said as many as 33 countries do not participate in the duty-free tariff preference (DFTP) scheme of India.

"Can we look at getting more and more countries to enjoy the fruits of this partnership and set a benchmark to double this trade number from USD 100 billion to USD 200 billion between India and Africa. I think we should look at doing that in seven years," Goyal said. He added that opportunities are there in increasing collaborations in the IT sector as India can help African nations in infrastructure development, health, and financial inclusion needs."

There is a potential in the entertainment sector also given our mutual strengths. Sports also, we can increase cooperation," he said, adding that mineral-rich Africa can complement India's increasing needs for critical minerals, particularly for the EV sector. Critical minerals, such as cobalt, copper, lithium, nickel, and rare earths, play a crucial role in the production of clean energy technologies, from wind turbines to electric cars.

Critical minerals are particularly in demand for the production of batteries for electric cars. Sustainable practices in mining can become an area of collaboration and value addition in minerals both in India can be taken through joint partnerships, he said."On food security, India has several offerings for Africa and we have demand for oil seeds, pulses, lentils," he said. He added that both sides are working towards increasing cooperation in MSMEs and the startup ecosystem.