Africa: India sets up duty free tariff
Fredrick Mugira, AfricaNews reporter in Mbarara, Uganda - 09/04/2008
The Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmahon Singh has announced that India has set up a Duty Free Tariff Preference Scheme for Least Developed Countries under which New Delhi will unilaterally provide preferential market access for exports from all 50 least developed countries, 34 of which are in Africa.
Manmohan was today addressing the first ever Africa-India summit at Vigyan Bhauan hall in New Delhi. The scheme, he said, will cover 94% of India’s total tariff lines. He said that the scheme will provide preferential market access on tariff lines that comprise 92.5% of global exports of all LDCs.
He said the time has come for Africa and India to create a new architecture for engagement in the 21st century. Dr. Manmahon expressed hope that the New Delhi Declaration and the Africa-India Framework for Cooperation that is planned to be issued at the end of the summit will provide the blueprint for India-Africa dialogue and engagement in the 21st century.
Speaking on behalf of the East African Community that groups Kenya, Uganda Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni urged Indian private companies to invest in the improvement of Africa’s infrastructure to enable the continent tap the available markets.
“We need Indian investment to make our products cheap and competitive and also to access the high markets Africa has been offered but which it cannot exploit fully”, Mr. Museveni said.
The meeting was also addressed by Professor Alpha Ouma Konare, the former Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Presidents Joseph Kabila Kabange of the Democratic Republic of Congo, John Agyekum Kufuor of Ghana, Maitre Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal, Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, among others.
The Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmahon Singh has announced that India has set up a Duty Free Tariff Preference Scheme for Least Developed Countries under which New Delhi will unilaterally provide preferential market access for exports from all 50 least developed countries, 34 of which are in Africa.
Manmohan was today addressing the first ever Africa-India summit at Vigyan Bhauan hall in New Delhi. The scheme, he said, will cover 94% of India’s total tariff lines. He said that the scheme will provide preferential market access on tariff lines that comprise 92.5% of global exports of all LDCs.
He said the time has come for Africa and India to create a new architecture for engagement in the 21st century. Dr. Manmahon expressed hope that the New Delhi Declaration and the Africa-India Framework for Cooperation that is planned to be issued at the end of the summit will provide the blueprint for India-Africa dialogue and engagement in the 21st century.
Speaking on behalf of the East African Community that groups Kenya, Uganda Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni urged Indian private companies to invest in the improvement of Africa’s infrastructure to enable the continent tap the available markets.
“We need Indian investment to make our products cheap and competitive and also to access the high markets Africa has been offered but which it cannot exploit fully”, Mr. Museveni said.
The meeting was also addressed by Professor Alpha Ouma Konare, the former Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Presidents Joseph Kabila Kabange of the Democratic Republic of Congo, John Agyekum Kufuor of Ghana, Maitre Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal, Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, among others.
