India has taken its total aid commitment in Africa to $5.7 billion over the next three years, prime minister Manmohan Singh said in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Abbaba moments ago. India had last month taken the overall aid to Afghanistan to $2 billion.
Singh, who was participating at the Indo-African summit in the East African city, did not seem overly optimistic about having someone from the developing World succeed Dominic Strauss-Kahn to be the head of the International Monetary Front.
India and other countries like South Africa had suggested someone from the least developed countries to the top post after the Frenchman Kahn was forced to step down over allegations of sexual assault.
Singh pointed out that all international institutions like the US need to be reformed and this is high on the agenda of developing countries, but beyond a point, international relations are purely about who has how much power.
“Those who wield power do not wish to yield ground very easily… The struggle for the transformation of global institutions is not a one shot operations, but a long operation in which all the developing countries will have to stand united,” he said.
India is trying to ensure its diplomatic presence and goodwill among African nations even as China beat the country to the pole by a mile. China uses a mix of diplomacy and economic incentives such as investment and trade to advance its clout in the continent.
