Indian Premier to visit Kenya, Tanzania, two other African countries

Indias prime minister has kicked off a four-nation African tour on a continent where Chinas presence has been strong, including countries that havent been visited by an Indian leader in more than three decades. Prime Minister Narendra Modis trip is meant to raise Indias profile in energy, trade and investment. He started Thursday in Mozambique, tweeting his arrival in Portuguese, the official language: Iniciando o meu périplo por África com uma visita a Moçambique. Modi goes next to South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya. Indias foreign ministry has described the four countries on the Indian Ocean as economic gateways to landlocked African states. Mozambique alone receives almost a quarter of Indias investment in Africa, according to Indias government. Several agreements are expected to be signed with each country, the foreign ministry said, and energy and food security will be key issues. Mozambique soon will be the worlds third largest exporter of natural gas after Qatar and Australia, the ministry said. India also hopes to sign civil aviation agreements to introduce direct flights. No Indian airline has direct connections with Africa. A long-term agreement to import pulses from Mozambique is expected to be signed on Thursday. India has been trying to control the prices of pulses, a staple diet for millions of its poor, which have doubled in the past 18 months because of two successive drought years. South Africa, which lists India as its sixth-largest trade partner, is another key stop for Modi. He is expected to meet with the Indian community in South Africa, which has more than one million people of Indian origin. Hell do the same in Kenya, with 80,000 people of Indian origin. In Durban, South Africa, Modi is expected to take a brief train journey to commemorate Indian independence leader Mohandas K. Gandhi, whose experience with racism while living in South Africa as a young man shaped his resistance to segregation with nonviolent protest. Agencies

Latest News

Indian Premier to visit Kenya, Tanzania, two other African countries