From: Zee Adu-Asante, GNA Special Correspondent

New Delhi, April 8, GNA - The first ever Africa-India Forum is underway in New Delhi, India, to brainstorm on how India can evolve its partnership with African countries to meet the common challenges that confront them.

Foreign Ministers from African countries, including Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Zambia, South Africa and Tanzania were among those who attended the ministers' closed-door meeting on Monday.

Sources close to the meeting said the two parties agreed to co-operate in several areas including economics, trade, industry and investment, agriculture, small and medium-scale enterprises (SME) and finance.

They also agreed to cooperate in regional integration, politics, science, technology, research and development, ICT, water and sanitation and poverty eradication to meet their challenges.

Africa and India also want to work towards food security, eradicating poverty and improvement of the livelihood of their peoples. High on the agenda is capacity building and training to increase the capacity of small land holders to help African food producers to comply with the required quality and safety standards.

Africa and India recognized the need to expand their two-way trade, create greater market access, encourage trade negotiations, dispute settlement and investment facilitation.

Mr. Anand Sharma, Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, said the forum had generated tremendous interest worldwide, adding that Africa and India formed one-third of the world's population. He said India looked forward to true partnership with Africa to support its development since they shared a special relationship based on equality and self-respect.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Mr. Akwasi Osei-Adjei, Minister of Foreign Affairs, lauded the summit and said India had the skills and technology to help Africa.

He said India's move was not to exploit the natural resources of Africa but to help eradicate some diseases and hunger in Africa. Presidents John Agyekum Kufuor of Ghana, Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania, Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria and Joseph Kabila of Democratic Republic of Congo are among those attending.

Others are Presidents Mwai Kibaki of Kenya and Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal; Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, Burkina Faso Prime Minister Tertius Zongo and Nigerian Vice President Goodluck Jonathan. Egypt's International Cooperation Minister, Fayza Abou El Naga would represent his country, Libya is being represented by Ali Abdul Salam

Altreki, African Union (AU) Minister, while the AU delegation is being led by the AU Commission President, Alpha Konare.

The summit will focus on forging a more contemporary partnership in key areas like trade and investment, energy and cooperation on global issues like the UN reforms, terrorism and climate change in the light of political and economic changes that have transformed India and African countries over the last two decades.

The summit is also expected to launch an action plan to strengthen economic and strategic partnership between India and Africa. Many experts see the India-Africa Summit as a diplomatic exercise by New Delhi to counter the increasing economic clout of China in oil-rich African countries.

Indian officials, however, emphasise that India is not in competition with any country in Africa as its relations with the continent are based on mutual empowerment through trade, technology and human resource development.