Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM's address at the Joint Session of the Nigerian National Assembly

"I am deeply honoured by this opportunity to address you here today in this new temple of your democracy. I am also delighted to be in this beautiful city of Abuja, which symbolizes a dynamic Nigeria and a new dawn in the life of an ancient people.

I stand before you to convey to the people of Nigeria the greetings and good wishes of over a billion Indians. We have been your brothers and friends of long standing.

In the past, we have shared the pain of subjugation and the joy of freedom and liberation. We have worked shoulder to shoulder in the fight against apartheid and racial discrimination. We have worked together in the Nonaligned Movement to promote South-South cooperation for development. Today, we need to stand ever more united to meet the challenges of the new millennium.

India is the largest democracy in the world. Nigeria is the largest democracy in Africa. We are multi-religious, multi-ethnic and multi-lingual societies. Our societies embrace modernity while preserving their traditions. There is a natural logic in ties between our two countries.

The principal challenge before us remains the socio-economic development of our people. The information revolution and higher levels of literacy have raised popular expectations. Disparities are leading to social tensions. Economic growth has to be accompanied by a better distribution of its benefits.

The success of diverse democracies like Nigeria and India is important. It will prove that democracy and development go hand in hand.

We are approaching the fiftieth year of the establishment of our diplomatic relations. There can be no better occasion than this to launch a Strategic Partnership between India and Nigeria. It will be anchored in the past and look to the future.

This is a partnership for economic growth. There are many complementarities in our rapidly growing economies. Nigeria is already India's largest trading partner in Africa, but we need to vastly expand and diversify our trade.

There has been a surge in Indian investment abroad in areas such as Information Technology, energy, pharmaceuticals and auto components. We would like to see Indian investment expand in Nigeria. Nigeria has always provided a congenial home for Indian business.

Our two countries can promote transfer of technologies in key areas of the knowledge economy like Information Technology and biotechnology. Small and medium industry can play a key role.

Our partnership is for development. We need to share experiences on effective strategies for sustainable development, poverty alleviation, healthcare facilities and universal education. In this context, being largely agrarian societies, there is great potential for cooperation in agricultural research, soil and water management and food processing.

It is a partnership for energy security. Energy security is a vital prerequisite for sustained growth. Nigeria's rich natural resources provide the base for our mutually beneficial cooperation for energy security. India and Nigeria should also promote research and development inefficiency of energy production, clean technologies and renewable sources of energy.

Ours is a partnership for peace, stability and security. Without peace, there cannot be sustained economic progress. Both India and Nigeria seek peace and stability in their neighbourhood. Nigeria's contributions to conflict resolution in Africa are well known.

We are united in our condemnation of terrorism as a grave threat to humankind. We seek to upgrade our cooperation on security matters to meet these emerging threats and challenges to our social fabric.

Finally, it is a partnership to steer the global political and economic agenda towards addressing the legitimate concerns of developing countries. We need to jointly seek changes in the international financial and trading system to make it development-friendly. The crushing burden of debt on the poorest of the poor, and barriers to trade in the form of restricted market access and distortions in subsidies need to be removed.

We have a vital interest in preserving and promoting the effective role of the United Nations. For this, the structure and functioning of the Organization has to reflect contemporary global realities. It has to become a truly representative world body.

India is grateful for Nigeria's support for its permanent membership of an expanded Security Council. We also believe that no reform of the Security Council would be complete without adequate representation from Africa. We support Nigeria's view that the General Assembly should resume its role as the pre-eminent organ of the United Nations, as originally envisaged in the United Nations Charter.

For this partnership to flourish we have to encourage and promote broad based exchanges covering all facets of our relationship. Leaders in government, parliament, industry and civil society in both our countries have to commit themselves to making this partnership work.

India also has a vision for a Partnership with Africa for the 21st century. I believe it is very appropriate that I discuss it with you in Nigeria, because your support and commitment are critical to realizing this vision.

Our first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, while addressing this assembly in 1962, said and I quote:

"Of one thing there can be no doubt, and that is the vitality of the people of Africa. Therefore, with the vitality of her people and the great resources available in this great continent, there can be no doubt that the future holds a great promise for the people of Africa."

We envision an Africa that is self-rellant, economically vibrant and at peace with itself and the world. It is this promise that our Partnership with Africa seeks to fulfill. India will offer its fullest cooperation to harness the great potential of the African people. We seek to become a close partner in Africa's resurgence.

Our partnership will be based on the fundamental principles of equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit. It is only on this basis that we can strengthen the trust and understanding between our peoples.

Our rich cultural and historical legacies are a common heritage of all humankind we will incorporate in hour partnership with Africa the importance of protecting civilizational identities and preserving cultural diversities.

We will promote the multi-faceted expansion of our economic relationship. The objective would not be just a quantitative increase in our trade and investment. We will aim at a qualitative enhancement of your economic competitiveness and technological capabilities.

Indian companies are fast becoming major investors in Africa. We will encourage such investments in a manner that contributes to Africa's economic strength.

India is also a large and growing market. We wish to see any more African companies doing business in India. We will facilitate this process.

India has extended concessional lines of credit to promote economic activity and for developmental projects in a number of African countries. We have contributed to the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and ECOWAS. India launched the TEAM-9 initiative - a project-based technical assistance programs for West and Central Africa. We propose to have a focuses dialogue with African leaders to evaluate the effectiveness of these efforts and to enhance their relevance to national economic targets.

We will use our strengths to assist Africa in the development of its physical and digital connectivity.

India is well placed to offer cost effective transportation systems particularly in the railways sector. Our automobile sector is also witnessing unprecedented expansion both at home and abroad.

The Pan African E-network project, that seeks to bridge the 'digital divide' between Africa and the rest of the world is one of the most far-reaching initiatives undertaken by India. This Project envisages connecting 53 nations of the African Union through a satellite and fiber optic network that will provide effective communication and connectivity among themselves. The project also envisages connecting regional centres in Africa to institutions in India to provide tele-education and tele-medicine facilities.

We shall aim to develop and enrich our intellectual capital and human resources, including through the use of modern science and technology. We will emphasize skill development in emerging sectors of the new global economy.

The India-Africa technical cooperation programme today involves an outlay of over one billion US dollars, Annually over 15000 African students study in India. Many Indian engineers, doctors, accountants live and work in Africa.

We will work steadfastly for the preservation of our ecology and environment and collaborate on local solutions to problems such as climate change and conservation of scarce resources. We wish to learn from the work of African environmentalists who have pushed the frontiers of discourse on sustainable development to embrace democracy, human rights and women's rights.

India seeks much greater convergence with Africa on key developmental issues. We will work closely with the African Union in promoting the achievement of internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Developmental Goals.

We will share our experiences with African countries on holistic approaches to development. It has been our experience in India that the strengthening of local self-government institutions that promote participatory democracy is vital to bringing about inclusive growth.

We need to establish a sustained dialogue with Africa to identify joint approaches on international issues such as combating terrorism, nuclear disarmament, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, trafficking of small arms and narcotics. India will work with Africa in the areas of peacebuilding and peacekeeping. We have been involved in peacekeeping efforts in Africa over the past six decades.

If we can give concrete shape to the vision that I have shared with you, the transformation that we seek in our relations in the 21st century is within reach.

We have decided to create a high level dialogue with the great continent of Africa. The first meeting of the India-Africa Forum Summit will be hosted by us in New Delhi in April, 2008. We look forward to Nigeria's active contribution to this initiative.

The seas and the oceans have never been a barrier to India's age-old exchanges with Africa. Africa has always been a part of the Indian consciousness. It was on African soil that Mahatma Gandhi developed his unique philosophy of non-violent struggle.

I believe that India and Africa have a shared destiny and a common future. Ours is a relationship that must now be brought to full bloom. Let us work together to make this happen.

I thank you for your attention."