In anticipation of the BRICS summit, India and China compete for Africa



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Next week will see an intense diplomatic race between India and China on the African continent as Modi and Xi prepare to attend the BRICS summit in South Africa.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will begin his tour in three countries July 27 to 27, Rwanda where he will be received by President Paul Kagame.

A country that has been called "gateway to Africa" ​​by MEA officials, Modi will give 200 cows, which will allow Rwandan President Paul Kagame's flagship program " Girinka ", launched in 2006 to give a cow to every poor family.

"India will give 200 cows in Rwanda India attaches the utmost importance to Rwanda, two lines of credit will be extended to Rwanda" Prime Minister Modi's visit, "said TS Tirumurti, Secretary (Economic Relations) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at a press briefing Friday in New Delhi

the Prime Minister's first visit to Rwanda (23-24 July). Modi's visit to Rwanda will be followed by visits to Uganda (July 24-25) and South Africa (July 25-27), the two places he has visited before.

Similarly, Chinese President Xi Jinping will also visit Africa continent on a four-country tour where he is here to attend the BRICS summit. Xi's tour begins with Senegal, Rwanda, South Africa and ends with a visit to Mauritius

China is Africa's largest trading partner, she defeated the United States almost ten years ago. between China and Africa hit a record $ 220 billion in 2014, unless South Africa the countries it's visiting are not the biggest winners of this trade. Xi Jinping reaches the countries of Africa where China is deeply invested, economically and strategically.

READ | PM to visit Rwanda, Uganda and South Africa next week

Rwanda, where the two leaders will visit one day apart, will host for the first time a Chinese president and an Indian Prime Minister. India and China are fighting for strategic space in this small but important nation.

India will sign a defense framework agreement, apart from agricultural, dairy and cultural agreements, with Rwanda to strengthen ties between New Delhi and Kigali. "Strategic Partners" in January 2017.

"This will be a very broad defense framework agreement, part of our efforts to strengthen strategic linkages in African countries over the last four years, in addition to the following. to be the president of the African Union. ", said TS Tirumurti, secretary of the AEM's Economic Relations

.Africa is part of the ambitious initiative of the 'belt and Xi's "road" to build a global transportation network linking China to the rest of the world.Rwanda has positioned itself as a key nation in China's major projects, integrating its program with that of China. Beijing Railway Network Project.

"They will jointly witness the signing of a series of cooperation agreements to elevate practical cooperation between China and Rwanda. While China has 43 missions on the African continent including one in Rwanda, India has not yet opened its mission in Kigali

with the attention of Prime Minister Modi. on Africa, it is only in March of this year that India has decided to open 18 new missions in African countries, which will bring the total of India to 47. The 18 missions will be open over a period of four years between 2018 and 2021. The new missions will be in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Republic of Congo, Djibouti in Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Swaziland and Togo.

India and China have embarked on a race to gain strategic ground in Africa. India has badociated the continent with India-Africa summits and major awareness raising initiatives, but the Chinese, with their deep pockets, are a formidable competition in the region. "The visits will deepen mutual political trust, mutual development badistance, mutual learning on each other's concepts between China and Africa and building a common destiny community." closer between China and Africa, "said the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1965-19002). TS Tirumurti reminded reporters of the historical links between India and Africa. "We are not competing with China in Africa, our relationship with Africa dates back to the time of Gandhi," he said.

Chinese leaders have shown the importance of Africa in their approach to diplomatic engagements. In 2013, when he took office for the first time, he chose Africa as part of his inaugural trip abroad and continued to visit the continent twice more during his first term.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcements. He will also have the honor of addressing the Ugandan Parliament.

India will extend two lines of credit (LOC) to Uganda and will have an interaction with the Indian diaspora.

During the BRICS summit in South Africa, "global hotspots" will be discussed in security talks. Inclusive growth, health and vaccines, peacekeeping and sustainable development will be at the heart of the BRICS summit

The BRICS retreat will also be organized during the BRICS summit to discuss future prospects

a Bilateral meeting will take place on the sidelines of the Summit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also hold meetings with other BRICS leaders.

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