India & South Sudan: New hopes, new vistas

India’s ties with South Sudan predate the birth of the world’s newest nation and Africa’s 54^th country in 2011. In Juba, the capital of South Sudan, old-timers still recall fondly India’s then President Fakruddin Ali Ahmed’s visit to the undivided Sudan in 1975 when he addressed the Regional People’s Assembly in Juba, where the entire city literally turned up to welcome him. The reception for the visiting president underlined deep respect and affection the people of South Sudan have for India.

India was among the first countries to recognise an independent South Sudan and this was followed by Vice President Hamid Ansari’s trip to partake in the Independence Day celebrations in Juba on July 9, 2011. After the end of the second civil war in Sudan in 2005, India had already started engaging with South Sudan, opening its consulate in Juba which later got upgraded to an embassy once in 2012 after South Sudan’s independence.

Development and Training

Given colossal development needs of a new nation, India has been proactive in providing funds, expertise and technologies to South Sudan to enable its emergence and flowering as a strong independent country. New Delhi has assisted in institution building in the nascent country. Sandeep Shastri, pro vice-chancellor at Bangalore’s Jain University, has played an active role in drafting the constitution of South Sudan.

Capacity development and developmental cooperation remain twin planks of India’s engagement with South Sudan. New Delhi has provided a grant of USD 5 million for infrastructure, capacity building and social sector development in South Sudan. Under the India-Africa Forum Summit process, India has pledged to set up Vocational Training Centre (VTC) & Rural Technology Park (RTP) in South Sudan. A solar electrification project, implemented by Central Electronics Limited of India near Juba, has lighted up lives of hundreds of people living in rural areas in South Sudan. South Soudan is also set to be connected to India’s landmark Pan African e-Network Project, which seeks to provide tele-medicine and tele-education to African people. The Ministry of External Affairs also signed an agreement with Barefoot College for providing funds amounting to US $ 500,000 for establishing Regional Barefoot Training and Vocational Centre (RBTVC) to promote solar electrification in the villages in Yei.

Trade & Investment

India’s trade with South Sudan is mostly through third countries as Juba’s total global trade is still only USD 4.8 billion. ONGC Videsh has made an investment of around US$ 2.5 billion (spread over South Sudan and Sudan) in the hydrocarbon sector since 2003.

Bolstering security

Bolstering security in a country which is negotiating its path to stability remains a key priority of India in South Sudan. India has deployed two battalions of about 2,000 personnel in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). Besides, India has also sent 49 Indian Police officers, who are assisting the South Sudan National Police Service in building up the police structures in the country. Indian soldiers have gone beyond their call of duty to connect with people of Sudan and helped them through a host of social welfare initiatives, including holding medical camps, donating books to educational institutions and building roads. It is this kind of commitment and connect that has created a huge reservoir of goodwill for India in Africa’s newest nation.

India Writes Network

(This article was first published in www.iafs.in – the official website of India-Africa Forum Summit-III)

Highlights

Investment

ONGC Videsh has invested around USD 2.5 billion in the hydrocarbon sector.

Key India-assisted Projects

Setting up of Vocational Training Centre (VTC) and Rural Technological Park in South Sudan

Setting up of solar electrification project near Juba.

Scholarships: 70 slots allotted for South Sudan under the ITEC Programme for the year 2014-15. In the year 2013-14, South Sudan had utilized 75 of 80 allotted seats.

Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) has allocated seven scholarships for South Sudanese nationals for higher studies in India for the academic year 2014-15.

Diaspora: Around 500 Indians live and work in South Sudan

References

Consulate General of India in Juba, South Sudan upgraded to Embassy level

PM greets the people of South Sudan on their proclamation of independence

India welcomes successful referendum in Southern Sudan

Indian hand in South Sudan constitution

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