Piyush Goyal Union Minister of State (IC) for Coal, Power and New and Renewable Energy said that India values its partnership with countries in Africa and that India would continue to collaborate with countries in Africa in achieving their developmental endeavours, through sharing of technology, expertise, skill sets and capacity building endeavours. While speaking at the Valedictory Session of the “Focus Africa” seminar organised by Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank), Shri Goyal touched upon the Government’s recent endeavours to ensure access to affordable energy to all and its initiative of seamless connectivity through the Digital India Initiative.
P A Chinamasa, Hon’ble Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Government of Zimbabwe in his address highlighted that while the country is endowed with abundant natural and mineral resources, the potential needs to be fully realized yet. He noted that infrastructure development, value addition in mining and beneficiation, education and healthcare are priority sectors for economic development and invited Indian entrepreneurs to invest in areas of its strength. Anil Swarup, Secretary, Ministry of Coal, highlighted that India has made rapid strides in the coal sector over the years with India recording the highest coal production growth of 8.3% in 23 years, which has led to over ` 3.35 Lakh Crore (approximately USD 51.5 billion) of potential revenues to the coal bearing states through transparent coal e-auctions & allotments. He opined that India would be keen to partner with Africa to explore business opportunities in the coal sector by way of exploration, mining, development of coal sector projects and mines in African countries by Indian companies.
Mr. Upendra Tripathy, Secretary, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, Government of India stressed upon the importance that renewable sources of energy such as solar, hydro and wind are gaining as a medium of power generation in order to address the burgeoning demand for power in India. He emphasized the need for innovative financing mechanisms to reduce cost of renewable energy and possible closer collaboration among countries bestowed with abundance solar energy resources.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Yaduvendra Mathur, CMD, Exim Bank, stated that the role of Government of India has been pivotal in creating an enabling environment for Indian entrepreneurs and investors in Africa. Senior level delegates from institutions and the Governments of around 54 African countries, including the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development, PTA Bank, BOAD, DBSA and Afrexim Bank, and senior representatives from the African and Indian business community participated in the seminar which was organised on the sidelines of the third edition of the India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS).