India, Germany plan to broaden trilateral development partnership initiatives
- Discussions are currently underway to expand this partnership to include Mozambique
New Delhi - India and Germany are planning to expand their trilateral development partnership initiatives, focusing on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in third-world countries across Asia, Africa and the Indo-Pacific region, according to persons aware of the matter.
Launched in 2022, these trilateral projects have seen India engage with developing countries such as Peru, Malawi, Cameroon and Ghana on various fronts so far. The projects range from promoting agri-business amongst women in Malawi to increasing potato yields in Cameroon through agri-tech innovation.
“The objective would be to build on individual strengths and experiences in development cooperation and offer sustainable, viable and inclusive projects to third countries in addressing development challenges and achieving SDGs and SDG related climate targets, including through multilateral institutions where India and Germany are members, such as the International Solar Alliance (ISA),” the two sides said in a Joint Declaration of Intent in May 2022.
The declaration also emphasizes both countries' ambition to conduct capacity-building initiatives in mutually agreed priority sectors and explore co-financing options and innovative partnership models for joint projects in third countries.
Discussions are currently underway to expand this partnership to include Mozambique, according to persons aware of the matter. This comes after external affairs minister S. Jaishankar completed his inaugural visit to the country in April.
“India has extended support to Mozambique in diverse areas - provision of drinking water, improving power generation and distribution, improving agricultural productivity, rehabilitation of irrigation infrastructure, creation of an Information Technology park, construction of an assembly plant for solar cells, rehabilitation of road networks, construction of housing units, railway equipment,” according to the Indian Embassy in Mozambique.
In 2010, India extended a $500 million Line of Credit to Mozambique for development cooperation, inclusive of education, emergency humanitarian aid, and medical supplies.
This proposed expansion of the trilateral development partnership signals positive progress for India's ambitions in development diplomacy, despite some previous attempts at forming trilateral partnerships, notably the Asia-Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC) with Japan, experiencing delays. India has also initiated trilateral development cooperation with the UK, and jointly with France and the UAE, established a minilateral group to promote cooperation on issues such as food security, circular economy, and climate change.
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First Published:19 May 2023, 01:01 PM IST
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