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Asia Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC)

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June 02, 2017

Why in news?

  • An annual meeting of the African Development Bank (AfDB) held recently in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
  • Prime Minster released a vision document on the “Asia Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC)”.

What is AAGC?

  • It is a study jointly produced by three research institutions of India and Japan in consultation with other Asian and African think tanks.
  • It envisages closer engagement between India and Africa for “sustainable and innovative development”.
  • It will be anchored to four pillars: 
  1. Development and cooperation projects;
  2. Quality infrastructure and institutional connectivity;
  3. Enhancing capacities and skills and
  4. People-to-people partnership.  
  • It will accord priority to development projects in health and pharmaceuticals, agriculture and agro-processing, disaster management, and skill enhancement.
  • It will have special focus on Africa, India and South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia and Oceania.

How it is different from China’s OBOR?

  • The approaches of India and China towards Africa are essentially different.
  • China concentrates on infrastructure and cheque-book diplomacy, whereas India promotes a broader spectrum of cooperation projects and programmes focussed on the development of Africa’s human resources.
  • China goes solo, while India is desirous of working with other willing nations to assist Africa as per the latter’s priorities.

What should be done to make AAGC effective?

  • China is rapidly expanding its footprint in Africa.
  • So India and Japan do not have the luxury of time.
  • India and Japan should immediately initiate a few joint pilot projects involving the companies of India, Japan and a few African countries in identified areas such as health care, agriculture and blue economy.
  • They should increase the scope of their development projects, create synergy among themselves and engage proactively with other willing partners.

 

Source: The Hindu

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