India-Africa summit to start today

NEW DELHI: India is not "looking forgains or seeking to compete" with China in wooing Africa. (Watch: First India-Africa summit to begin)In fact, over the next couple of days, the government,which has laid out the red carpet for about 14 heads of state and government andsenior ministers, will put the Indian spin on its renewed courtship of Africa��� that India is in Africa for the long haul and it will help Africannations assume control over their destinies.Briefing journalists onthe eve of the India-Africa Forum summit here on Monday, minister of state forexternal affairs Anand Sharma said the summit was based on the "specialrelationship based on mutuality and respect".At the end of thetwo-day summit, India and African countries will issue two documents ��� ajoint declaration and a cooperative framework that will set out the roadmap onthe new India-Africa engagement. Sharma said the focus of thedocuments would be on capacity building and developing skills in Africa,agriculture, including water management, and crop diversity. Bilateral tradewith Africa, he said, had jumped to $30 billion, a six-fold increase from fiveyears ago.However, conscious that China's trade with Africa is nowat a staggering $55 billion, Sharma instead stressed on India's "time-tested"relationship with Africa. However, he denied that India's decision to ban riceexports had anything to do with Africa.India will be hard put tocounter the perception that it is going all out to woo Africa to counter theoverwhelming Chinese presence there.The line-up of African leadersis impressive. South African president Thabo Mbeki, Ugandan president YoweriKaguta Museveni, Tanzanian president Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete and Algerianpresident Abdelaziz Bouteflika will join presidents and PMs from Ghana, BurkinaFaso and Senegal. There will also be president of DemocraticRepublic of Congo Joseph Kabila Kabange and Ethiopia's PM Meles Zenawi.