New Delhi, 3 November 2014
President Kagame arrived in New Delhi for a two day visit during which he will attend the Indian Economic Summit hosted by the World Economic Forum and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Held in Asia’s 3rd largest economy and themed “Redefining Public-Private Cooperation for a New Beginning,” the forum brings together leaders in field of business, government and civil society for a discussion focused on inclusive growth.
President Kagame’s visit began with an interactive discussion hosted by CII with over thirty business leaders representing sectors including energy, health, manufacturing, education, IT and agro processing.
Referring to the historical ties, President Kagame reminded the audience of the long standing relationship that exists between India and East Africa: “India and East Africa are no strangers to one another. We have engaged in trade for centuries and the economic contributions made by East Africans of Indian origin are an important factor in our region’s dynamism.”
President Kagame invited the business leaders to invest in Rwanda and East Africa and build on the integration efforts taking place in the region: “With the Northern Corridor Integration Projects, involving Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, South Sudan, and more recently Ethiopia, we aim to connect our people and markets to each other and to the world, as never before. Connecting our region to India would be beneficial for both sides.”
With the current yearly investment from India at $78 million, President Kagame invited those present to build on the existing partnerships and do more with the region: “The business partnership between India and East Africa is strong. But I believe there is much more that we can undertake together.Our economies are ready and we need more of India, both in Rwanda and in East Africa generally.”
CII is a non-government, not-for-profit, industry-led and industry-managed organization, playing a proactive role in India’s development process. The confederation was founded in 1895, and has over 7200 members, from the private as well as public sectors, including SMEs and MNCs, and an indirect membership of over 100,000 enterprises from around 242 national and regional sectoral industry bodies.
The interactive discussion was co-chaired by Ninad Karpe by CEO & MD, APTECH LTD., a global learning solutions company
President Kagame ended the day with the Africa-India boardroom discussion alongside Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, Vice-President of Ghana and Daniel Kablan Duncan, Prime Minister of Ivory Coast. The discussion titled “Serving the New Global Consumer: Africa-India Cooperation,” focused on the opportunities for investment between Africa and India.