Abuja: Lauding it's upward trajectory in terms of aspirations, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar emphasized that India is placing its bets on Africa's growth due to the abundant opportunities presented by its demography and resources.

In his address to the the Nigeria-India Business Council (NIBC) in Abuja today, Jaishankar said, "Now, having spoken about India-Nigeria, let me make a larger point in respect of Africa. Africa is rising, and India is betting on Africa's rise."

"We are betting on Africa's rise because, by any objective assessment, today there is so much growing for Africa in terms of demography, in terms of resources, in terms of ambition, in terms of, increasingly, of policy alignments. That clearly potent, a very different, much more positive future in the very short term," he underlined.

The External Affairs Minister further stated that India is also betting on Africa, as both the nations share a history that has engendered an enormous solidarity. He asserted that for India, the multipolarity of the world will not be complete until Africa takes its due place.

The EAM said, "Now, we are betting on Africa because, as the president of NIBC reminded us, we have a shared past, not always a happy history, not between us, but between us and some other people. But it is a history which has engendered an enormous solidarity."

"And that solidarity today makes me say very clearly that for us, when we speak about a changing global order, we clearly, today, India, as I said, the most populous country in the world, the fifth largest economy, a four trillion dollar approximate GDP. For us, the reordering of the world, the rebalancing, the multipolarity of the world will not be complete until Africa takes its due place," Jaishankar said.

"And we speak of it often, certainly in the diplomatic world, in terms of, you know, there will be reform of the United Nations, who will have a seat, how will it go, and all of that is very important. But I would say to all of you that rebalancing, reordering a new global order will only happen when the core of it is economic, which is the rise of Africa has to be the economic rise of Africa," he added.

EAM Jaishankar is on a visit to Nigeria from January 21-23.

Earlier in the day, Jaishankar addressed the India-Nigeria Business Forum. He also addressed the Nigerian Institute Of International Affairs (NIIA) in Lagos on India and the Global South.

He also visited the Indian High Commission in Abuja. There, he unveiled a bust of Mahatma Gandhi and planted a sapling in the High Commission premises.

India and Nigeria have traditionally enjoyed close and friendly relations. This is EAM's first visit to Nigeria, which will further consolidate bilateral relations between the two countries, according to Ministry of External Affairs release.

Prior to this, he also led the Indian delegation at the 19th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), to be held in Kampala, Uganda. He met several foreign leaders and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on the sidelines of the summit.

Notably, African Union (AU) became a permanent member of the G20 in September 2023 when India held G20 Summit under its chairmanship here in New Delhi.

The African Union is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The move to include the African Union in the G20 grouping was proposed by PM Modi in June last year.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his opening remarks at the 18th G20 Leaders' Summit, invited the African Union, represented by Chairperson Azali Assoumani, to take a seat at the table of G20 leaders as a permanent member.

"With everyone's approval, I request the AU head to take his seat as a permanent G20 member," Modi had said in his address.

Following PM Modi's announcement, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar accompanied the President of the Union of Comoros and Chairperson of the African Union (AU), Azali Assoumani, as he took his seat among world leaders.