India, Angola to deepen defence, energy ties; $200 million Line of Credit to be finalised: MEA

Addressing a special press briefing, MEA Secretary of Economic Relations Sudhakar Dalela said defence cooperation and lines of credit were among the key focus areas of engagement between India and Angola.

"I think both are very critical sectors for cooperation. When the President of Angola came to India this year, he did discuss both these aspects with our leadership. Of course, we have a fairly vibrant energy partnership with Angola already, and we have about USD 5 billion in trade with Angola, out of which 80 per cent is in the energy sector. Our partnership with Angola from an energy security perspective is very critical. And we would like to explore the possibility of providing more momentum and depth to our partnership in the energy sector," Dalela said.

He stated that India is ready to extend the USD 200 million Line of Credit (LoC) to Angola for cooperation in the defence sector, with the agreement still in its final stages.

"We are in the middle of discussions with Angola now to finalise the LOC agreement. We feel that we will be able to partner with Angola in this important area of defence as per their requirements," he said.

Earlier in May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the approval of a USD 200 million credit line for the modernisation of Angola's defence forces during a joint press statement alongside Angolan President Joo Lourenco, who was on an official visit to India.

Dalela also highlighted India's defence training initiatives, stating, "We train a number of officers from partner countries in the Global South, including Angola and Botswana. With Botswana, we have a very historic partnership in the defence sector--our Indian training team was there for three decades, working very closely with the Botswana Defence Forces."

On broader development cooperation, Dalela said India continues to assist partner countries through Lines of Credit and grant assistance.

"If there's a request from Angola or Botswana in the area of infrastructure development, we will be happy to look at those requests. As of now, we don't have any such requests, except for the defence industry that we have already announced," he added.

Highlighting new areas of collaboration, Dalela noted that India is engaging with its African partners in critical minerals, a key part of India's National Critical Minerals Mission.

"We would like to work with them through joint ventures, processing some minerals together, and meeting our requirements for sustainability, including electric vehicles and other sectors," he said.

Dalela also underlined India's commitment to capacity building under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme, particularly with Botswana.

"In the last 10 years, almost 750 professionals, students, and civil servants from Botswana have come to India for training programmes across different sectors, including defence. If there is a requirement for more slots, we will be happy to create customised programmes," he stated.

On emerging areas like cybersecurity, Dalela said India remains open to collaboration. "We haven't had detailed discussions with Angola and Botswana yet, but going forward, we would be open to working with our African partners in this domain," he said.

President Droupadi Murmu's visit to Angola and Botswana from November 8 to 13 is expected to give a major boost to India's engagement with the African continent, particularly in the areas of defence, energy, capacity building, and sustainable development. (ANI)