The postponement of the fourth India-Africa Forum Summit should not be viewed as a commotion in the bilateral relations. It is a temporary pause that offers an important opportunity to rethink, recalibrate, and strengthen the future framework of India-Africa partnership. Strategic partnerships are not sustained only through summit diplomacy; they are carried forward through continuous intellectual engagement, institutional dialogue, policy deliberation, and people-to-people connections.
Over the last month, I had the opportunity to participate in and observe a remarkable series of conferences, roundtables, diplomatic dialogues, and policy discussions focused on India-Africa relations. In many ways, this momentum began with the two-day International Conference on “Africa in the Digital Age: Emerging Trends, Global Realignments, and India-Africa Partnerships” organised by the Department of African Studies, University of Delhi. The conference brought together diplomats, policymakers, scholars, researchers, and strategic thinkers at a critical moment ahead of the fourth India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS-IV).What is particularly encouraging, many important institutions continued the momentum through serious engagements on Africa. Organisations such as the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), think tanks like Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF), Chintan Research Foundation (CRF), Observer Research Foundation (ORF), Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP), India International Centre (IIC), Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), India Habitat Centre (IHC), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and several diplomatic missions and ministries actively organised dialogues, Track-1.5 and Track-2 discussions, and policy consultations on the future of India-Africa cooperation. Track 1.5 and Track 2 refer to informal and semi-formal diplomatic channels used to supplement official, government-to-government negotiations.
