India set to increase energy exposure in Africa

20 May 2011

Energy is expected to be a topic high on the agenda at the India-Africa Forum Summit which kicks-off today (June 20th).

The five-day conference, which will take place in New Delhi, is an important economic and political platform for India and Africa.

According to the Africa-India Framework for Cooperation, energy is among the seven areas that the two sides agreed to co-operate in.

Energy is currently at the forefront of India's strategy in Africa and it is forecast that India will be increasingly looking to Africa to diversify its energy sources.

Over the past three years, India has signed agreements with Nigeria and Angola for oil exploitation and agreed with African countries including Sudan, Libya, Egypt and Gabon to strengthen its investment in oil and natural gas exploitation.

"In Africa, Nigeria and Sudan are two key countries from which we import significant amount of petroleum products," Vishnu Prakash, spokesperson of India's external affairs ministry said.

Trade between India and Africa is expected to reach $70 billion (£43 billion) by 2015.

Category: Energy