Back in 2019, India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on development cooperation in Africa. By 2025, the dynamics in geopolitics have shifted, and so has the African countries’ role–from being primarily seen as a recipient of development assistance to an emerging and assertive marketplace for trade, connectivity, and innovation. This evolution is reflected in bold initiatives such as the Bharat Africa Setu, conceptualised early this year by the Government of India and DP World of the UAE. The Setu will serve as a comprehensive trade ecosystem–anchored in physical infrastructure along with a plethora of value-added services such as export finance, marketing and branding, packaging, logistics, and certification services. The objective is to, more broadly, reinforce South-South economic cooperation, and, more specifically, enhance India-Africa trade via the UAE, leveraging both sea and air connectivity between ports, economic zones and logistics parks operated by DP World in both geographies.
Countdown to BRICS 2026: The India-Africa-UAE Trilateral (Mannat Jaspal – Observer Research Foundation)
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