CONTEXT
India is going to hold the first ever India-Africa Army Chiefs Conclave and a 9-day military exercise.
- It is a step to expedite India’s outreach to African nations in response to the growing influence of China on the continent.
AFRICAN CHIEFS CONCLAVE
- The conclave will have two sessions.
- The first session will examine the key pillars of the India-Africa defence partnership.
- The second session will focus on the outreach of the Indian defence industry to the African continent.
AFINDEX 2023
- It is the second edition of the Africa-India Exercise (AFINDEX) for 2023.
- An exhibition of military equipment built indigenously will be organized to show the manufacturing capabilities of India to the African Chiefs.
- It will be divided into four phases.
- In the beginning, the trainers will be trained.
- This will be followed by the humanitarian mine action phase and a peacekeeping operations phase.
- In the end, a validation exercise will be conducted.
OBJECTIVE OF THIS EVENT
- It is a positive step towards strengthening India-African relations with a focus on enhancing peace and security.
- It is an initiative to create opportunities to exchange ideas and perspectives.
- As said by an official, the objective is to learn from the African experience in cooperative security, management of security crisis situations, and promotion of the collaborative approach in enhancing the capacity of the African armies.
WAY FORWARD
- India is making consistent efforts to boost defence ties with African countries.
- India is working twofold: one, observing Africa as a major market to export indigenously built defence equipment; and, second, India has been working for the capacity enhancement of African armies.