The first CII- EXIM Bank Conclave on India Africa Project Partnership was held in the year 2005. The initiative was launched by CII in partnership with EXIM Bank of India and with the support of the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India. Over the last twelve editions, it has emerged as the pioneer event in building partnerships and enhancing the economic engagement between the two regions.

The effectiveness of the CII EXIM Bank Conclave was best assessed by Mr Pranab Mukherjee, Former President of India and the then Minister of External Affairs, Government of India, in his keynote address at 5th CII EXIM Bank Conclave in 2009. Mr. Mukherjee said “the Conclave has become a prestigious event for Indian and African governments and industry to meet and explore new avenues of partnerships. The annual gathering enables the Indian and African leadership to take stock of the progress of the partnership and address future needs in this regard”.

LEADER'S THOUGHTS

The increasing participation of the African nations in the CII led Conclaves and the growing relevance of the platform has given shape to policy dialogues of the Government of India, EXIM Bank and the industry. CII membership has greatly benefited from the platform and as an institution CII has shown its continuing commitment to the relationship.

The Annual CII Conclave in New Delhi is scheduled at the end of the financial year to ensure a strategic push to the agenda evolved during the year through different outbound and inbound activities of CII. Since 2005, CII has organized 14 Regional Conclaves, in Zambia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mozambique, South Africa, Cote d’ Ivoire, Uganda, Senegal, Tanzania, Namibia, and Nigeria.

The objectives that have guided the participation, deliberations and the growth process of the Conclave have evolved and grown with inputs and recommendations received at each Conclave.

PROMOTING PARTNERSHIPS AT 3 LEVELS

• Increasing outreach of information on Indian enterprise in the identified sectors to Africa.
• Increasing interaction between the Indian Industry and Africa to address specific opportunities.
• Discussing possibilities for Indian participation on long term projects.

• Building upon the momentum gathered with the launch of the "India Africa Forum Summit" and taking ahead the actionable agenda put forward during the deliberations.
• Initiation of programs related to capacity building, including resource mobilization for the same.

The essence of the CII Conclave has been to encourage Indian exporters to access the African countries and increase their presence in the region. A measure of success is the large participation at the event. The other measure is the number of B2B meetings that take place and the number of projects that are discussed. 4430 projects have been discussed in the past 14 editions.

This multi-pronged target of increasing trade, investment and developmental activities requires a sustained and concentrated effort. CII continuously works towards keeping up the momentum and keeping the Africa agenda on the forefront of Indian investors and exporters. The growing India-Africa economic exchanges bear testimony to the tangible benefits that has accrued from the high profile engagements at the conclaves. The India growth story has found a significantly larger following in Africa in this period, evidenced by the growing participation of key African delegates at the annual conclaves.