Forging a SecurityPartnerShiPLt. Gen. (Retired) Rajender Singh

Former Force commander of the un Mission in ethiopia and eritrea

india’s relations with africa areconditioned and energised by ourhistorical linkages and the strongpolitical foundations of the past.

new Delhi’s approach towards theafrican continent reflects a balancebetween our values and interests. ittakes into account the diversity of africa as well as the policies of other keyplayers.

today, africa looms larger in thesecurity and geo-strategicconsiderations of many importantoutside actors than it did before. indeed,the continent is fast emerging as one ofthe most sought-after destinations forbilateral engagement by many countries.africa is clearly on the cusp ofresurgence and india intends to play anactive role in spurring the continent’stransformation. however, when parts ofafrica were torn by conflict, andrestoring and maintaining peace becamea priority, india had also come forwardto help in the united nationspeacekeeping missions in differentafrican countries, including congo,

Somalia, Liberia, Burundi, Sudan,ethiopia and eritrea.

india needs to build on this legacy andstep up defence cooperation initiativeswith africa in a spirit of mutual trust andconfidence. Let me elaborate in the lightof my experiences in africa.

Experiences in AngolaMy experiences in africa date back to1995 when i was sent to angola asregional commander of the unPeacekeeping Mission. For someonewho never had a chance to venture outto africa, this was a unique experience.Despite the fact that there was aceasefire between the rebels and thegovernment forces, tension persisted andboth parties were unwilling to trust theother. the un appointed me as thecommander of the central region and ihad a challenging task since the rebelheadquarters was based there. thoughthe presence of the indian diaspora inangola was not very significant, onething that struck me was the tremendousgoodwill angolans had towards india.

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today, africa figures more significantly in thesecurity and geo-strategic considerations ofmany important outside actors than it didbefore. it is fast emerging as one of the mostsought-after destinations for bilateralengagement by many countries

(Top) Indian Army officers with members of Ex-Hot Dunes, a Botswanacommando force, during a joint exercise in Botswana in 2011.

(Right) Indian Army cadets along with their Nigerian counterparts atthe National Defence Academy, Kaduna, Nigeria, in 2007.

india can play a major role inempowering and training theadministrative machinery andsecurity apparatus in africancountries to meet theemerging security challenges.this can easily be coordinatedand steered under the aegis ofthe african union

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almost everyone knew about Mahatmagandhi, Jawaharlal nehru and indiragandhi. When the indian troops landedthere, the media hailed their arrival,calling them peace-keepers from the‘land of Mahatma gandhi’. this kind ofgoodwill and trust in india was to be animportant factor which facilitated ourtask tremendously.

on reaching angola, i felt awed by thenatural beauty and wealth of the country.But i was equally struck by the thoughtthat angola could well have been one ofthe richest countries of the world, giventhe abundance of its natural resources likediamonds, minerals and oil, but for itsinternal turmoil. the ongoing conflict hadled to a massive destruction ofinfrastructure, reducing the ordinarypeople to a state of abject poverty. thisalso meant that there was plenty ofopportunity for countries willing to comeforward and help angola rebuild itsinfrastructure like railways, roads andbridges. i was happy to learn that indiahad in fact stepped in and contributedtowards the rebuilding of this fine nation.

My stay in angola for the next one yearwas quite eventful and full of ups anddowns as far as managing the securitysituation was concerned. But in the endwe managed to convince the unitarebels to give up arms and join therehabilitation camps, or “Quarteringareas”, as they were called, for the sakeof peace. For the most part, our successin doing so was due to the extensivehumanitarian work done by the unForces, particularly the indiancontingent, in rebuilding the civilsociety.

Ethiopia and EritreaMy insight into african society andculture deepened during my tenure asthe Force commander of the unpeacekeeping force in ethiopia anderitrea in 2006. During this time, wewere not only able to interact withthe top echelons of the twogovernments, but also get an insight intothe functioning of the african unionwhich was based in addis ababa. Sincethe un mission spread over a large areain eritrea and ethiopia, we also gainedfirst-hand knowledge about the livingconditions of the civilian populationthere. While we had to work extremelyhard alongside the Specialrepresentatives of the un Secretary-general to maintain the peace in thischallenging environment, my being anindian definitely helped.

in both ethiopia as well as eritrea, therewas enormous goodwill for india. Mostpolitical leaders and important membersof the civil society invariably had goodwords to say about indians. they oftenremembered their indian teachers withfond nostalgia. Many senior armygenerals also used to talk similarly oftheir instructors in the indian Militaryacademy.

the indian army, which has served inafrica as ‘Soldiers of Peace’, hasconsistently given a fine account of itselfin un peacekeeping operations. india’simage has burned bright in africa as ourtroops there have operated withadmirable professionalism, ingenuity andcompassion. they have been at theforefront of bringing succour to thesuffering civilian population.

(Clockwise from top left) Soldiers of the Indian Army on a peacekeeping mission inthe Democratic Republic of Congo.

Kenyans from the port city of Mombasa at a medical camp organised by visitingIndian Navy officers.

Uniforms on display at the museum of theIndian Army Training Centre in Holleta,Ethiopia.

Kenyan Navy officers aboard INS Ganga,the guided missile ship of the Indian Navy,on a port of call at Mombasa.

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During my tenure as the un Forcecommander, we launched a programmecalled ‘Winning hearts’, aimed atsynergising our military operations withdevelopmental projects. We accordedparticular priority to the rehabilitation ofthe unemployed youth and theresettlement of the refugees displacedduring the war. it was a sustained andwell-coordinated initiative based onconsultation with the local civiladministration of the two countries.every effort was made to ensure that thebasic needs of the people such as food,water, medical and veterinary aid didn’tgo unaddressed. Wherever possible, wehelped dig wells and build infrastructuresuch as check-dams, bridges and schoolbuildings. the ‘Winning hearts’programme was almost entirelyspearheaded by the indian contingent,which used for this purpose its ownresources or funds provided by theindian government.

in africa, i also had an opportunity tointeract with many foreign/defenceministers and the army chiefs of africancountries like Kenya, nigeria and Southafrica. almost all of them emphasised thegreat potential of enhancing defencecooperation with india, particularly in thefield of training and security sectorreforms.

our ambassador in ethiopia also initiateda number of other measures which hadgone a long way in increasing the levelsof cooperation with ethiopia and theafrican union, including defencecooperation.

india’s military, that has served in africa as‘Soldiers of Peace’, has consistently given a fine account of itself in un peacekeepingoperations. india’s image has burned bright inafrica as its troops there have operated withtremendous amount of professionalism,ingenuity and compassion

(Top) African military officers at the National Defence College in New Delhi.

(Right) A contingent of the Indian Army guards villagers in the Democratic Republic of Congo during a peacekeeping mission.

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Defence Cooperationindia has had the good fortune ofparticipating in peacekeeping as well asreconstruction operations in africa.after my arrival in ethiopia, when icalled on the Prime Minister, he told methat my presence there was doublywelcome because india was much morethan just a friend to his country; it wasreally like a brother. the leaders oferitrea echoed similar warm sentiments.

Despite the recent improvement,uncertainty in the security environmentis still an issue in some parts of africa.therefore, there is an urgent need tonot only empower the countries in thisdirection but also to bring about urgentsecurity sector reforms. india can play amajor role in empowering and trainingthe administrative machinery andsecurity apparatus to meet the emergingchallenges. this can easily becoordinated and steered under the aegisof the african union.

india, with the world’s second-largestarmy, has demonstrated that it is aresponsible stakeholder in theinternational system. it has gainfullyemployed its military in defencecooperation activities at the globallevel. an important element of ourcurrent policy relates to defencecooperation with select countries inafrica in order to assist their forcesthrough training programmes andexposure to best practices of india’sarmed forces. our high standards oftraining and infrastructural facilities area major contributing factor in thisdirection. the presence of english-speaking officers among the african

armies makes it easier for us to imparttraining.

over the years, india has trained a largenumber of african officers in variousmilitary institutions. currently, india hasmilitary-to-military cooperationactivities, primarily related to training,with almost a third of african nations.this includes the presence of indianmilitary training teams in manycountries, including Botswana, Zambia,Lesotho, Seychelles and ethiopia.

training teams were also earlierdeployed in nigeria and tanzania.india’s active participation in the unpeacekeeping missions in africa hasalso led to indian contingents playing animportant role in training armypersonnel in conflict-afflicted countrieslike congo, Sudan, Mozambique,rwanda and angola as part of post-conflict peace-building. We have alsoundertaken the supply of militaryhardware to a few countries like Kenyaand Seychelles in the past.

a constructive engagement with africancountries is in our long-term strategicinterest. given the growing presence ofsome of the big powers in africa, it isprudent that measures are taken toengage african countries, bothindividually and as regional groups,more effectively. Military diplomacyneeds to be more viably harnessed tofurther bolster overall relations betweenindia and african nations. additionally,building capacity of the african unionforces, especially in the fields of logisticmanagement and communication andinformation systems, for which it is

(Top) A delegation of Sudanese army officers at the Military College of Telecommunication Engineering, Mhow, India, in 2008.

(Right) The United Nations’ first all-women peacekeeping force comprising more than 100 Indian policewomen, arrived in Liberia, in 2007 to help keep the peace in the west African country.

currently, india has military-to-militarycooperation activities with almost a third ofafrican nations. this includes the presence of indian military training teams in manycountries, including Botswana, Zambia, Lesotho,Seychelles and ethiopia

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largely dependent on external support, isan area of priority.

Maritime security is one of the majorthreats to the region. india can establish asystem of regional cooperation with theindian ocean littoral countries to combatthreats, from non-state actors, ofterrorism, armed robbery and piracy. Weshould also explore the feasibility ofconducting different forms of multilateraldefence cooperation involving selectafrican nations and india.

The Way Forwardindia recognises the african countries’focus on capacity-building and humanresource development. as a result, africatoday is the largest recipient of theindian technical and economiccooperation (itec) programme. india’s

growing economic synergy with africa isquite visible in the expansion of bilateraltrade over the years. What is urgentlyneeded is a new boost to our defencecooperation.

Stronger military ties with africannations would provide excellentopportunities to combat securitychallenges. We have been on the righttrack, but we need to recognise that the unfolding change in africa iscomplex, that its pace is rapid andinconsistent, and that the competitionfor africa’s affection and attention has become increasingly intense. indiawill need to deepen its engagementwith the specific goal of fulfillingafrica’s needs and aspirations inaccordance with our capabilities and interests.

(Top) A reception for the Indian Navy in Maputo, Mozambique.Four Indian Navy ships from the Western Fleet visited the port ofMaputo in 2010.

(Left) Indian marine commandos in an anti-piracy operation in theGulf of Aden.

Maritime security is one of the major threatsto the region. india can establish a system ofregional cooperation with indian oceanlittoral countries to combat threats ofterrorism, armed robbery and piracy fromnon-state actors

“The commerce between India and Africa will be of ideas and services, not of manufactured goods against raw materials

after the fashion of Western exploiters”MahatMa Gandhi