The India-Africa Forum Summit adopted here on Wednesday two key documents aimed at enhancing the "true partnership" to achieve the Milennium Development Goals.
The Delhi Declaration is a political document that covers issues of bilateral, regional and international interest to India and Africa, including their common positions on UN reforms, climate change, WTO, anti-terrorism, etc.
India, an aspirant for the permanent membership of UN Security Council, is seeking the crucial support of African countries in bringing about reforms in the world body.
India and Africa countries agreed to "further strengthen cooperation towards early realization of a genuine reform of the United Nations and its working methods, particularly revitalizing and enhancing the role of the General Assembly and reform and expansion of the Security council."
"Africa takes note of India's position and its aspirations to become a permanent member with full rights in an expanded UN Security Council", the document said.
India and Africa reaffirmed their commitment to providing "meaningful" market access to the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and called on the members of WTO to implement duty-free and quota-free market access for all products originating from the LDCs.
On the issue of global warming, they expressed regret over the lack of demonstrable progress by developed countries on Green House Gas reduction commitments in the first commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol. "We emphasize the need for equitable and fair burden sharing in mitigation which must take into account historical emissions", said the declaration.
The Framework for Cooperation covers agreed areas of cooperation in many sectors including education, science and technology, agricultural productivity, food security, industrial growth, infrastructure and the development of health.
The action plan also includes closer partnership in all these areas and an intensification of economic and strategic ties, with India focusing on technology transfers and human resource development aimed at empowering African countries.
Africa and India agreed to strengthen their cooperation in agriculture sector in an attempt to improve the food security in Africa and to increase its exports to world markets.
African and Indian leaders also agreed to expand the two-way trade, greater market access and investment facilitation. They decided to cooperate closely to ensure quick and effective implementation and roll out of the Pan-African E-Network Project being funded by India.
Heads of state and government from Algeria, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Libya, Kenya, Nigeria Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia attended the April 8-9 summit.
Source:Xinhua
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