By Ambassador K P Fabian

Deepening cooperation in the energysector was the hallmark of the three-dayvisit to India by His Highness Sheikh Hamad binKhalifa Al Althani (April 8-10) even as the two-countries imparted a significant momentum to themany-splendoured Indo-Qatar relations by signing sixagreements in diverse areas, including an overarchingpact on cooperation in oil and gas exploration. Apartfrom normal trade, the two countries agreed to promoteinvestments in both upstream and downstream oil andgas projects. This is crucially important from India'senergy security point of view. India needs to importenergy and Qatar needs to export it. The two countrieshave maintained close and cordial relations since Qatar'semergence into independence in 1971. Cultural and economic contacts between people to people go back tocenturies. As the relations have evolved, cooperation inthe energy sector has been the most important.

Since the mid 1990s, Qatar has emerged as anincreasingly influential player in the energy sector. Ithas the third largest reserves of natural gas and it is thetop exporter of LNG having overtaken Indonesia. In2003, Qatar ranked fourth among exporters. India has a25-year contract for buying 7.5 million tonnes a year ofLNG from Qatar. The first shipment was received in2004. PETRONET LNG (established in 1998) has a terminal at Dahej in Gujarat and another in Kochi inKerala is under construction. Qatar has capacity toexport 77 million tonnes of LNG and the two countrieshave been engaged in negotiations for a new contract forsome time. The sticky part is the formula for pricing.Both sides are hopeful of an early agreement. India's

Minister for Petroleum and Gas Jaipal Reddy signed anagreement with his Qatari counterpart Mohammad BinSaleh al-Sada for deepening and expanding the cooperation in the energy sector. The agreement coversboth 'upstream' and 'downstream' activities. Indian companies such as ONGC have been active in Qatar formany years. India's import of crude oil works out to 5.6million tonnes a year.

The trade between Qatar and India has gone up from$1.2 billion in 2005 to $4.6 billion in 2010. The trade isweighted in Qatar's favour mainly because of the energyimports by India. The bilateral trade can never be balanced, but Indian companies could expand theirexports to Qatar. A number of prominent Indian companies such as L&T, Dodsal, Punj Lloyd, Voltas,Simplex, Wipro, Aptech, and Satyam Mahendra areactive in Qatar. More Indian companies should go toQatar to realise the full potential of the economic andtrade relations between the two countries. At times, theIndian exporter has focused on the needs of the 500,000Indian community in Qatar. Continued on Page 09

PACTS

RNI REGISTRATION DELENG/2011/35611

S Satyanarayanan

In a dynamic move towards ensuring development across nations, Afro Asian BusinessChronicle successfully facilitated an MoU betweenone of the renowned Indian hospital groups, and theMinistry of Health and Social Welfare of Gambia forsetting up a multi speciality hospital project in theWest African country and capacity building initiatives.

The MoU was signed by Dr Vinay Aggarwal,Chairman and Managing Director of PushpanjaliHospital of India and Permanent Secretary Ministryof Health and Social Welfare of Gambia on April 17in the country's capital Banjul.

"The public/private sector Agreement reachedbetween Indian Medical Hospital, Pushpanjali andthe Ministry of Health of the government of TheGambia for a hospital project in The Gambia andcapacity building initiatives is a milestone in theframework of India- Africa cooperation and

partnership. The Afro Asian Business Chronicle andThe Gambia mission in Delhi have done a remarkable job in putting together this venture," avisibly happy High Commissioner of Gambia toIndia H.E. Dembo M Badjie said.

The pro-active effort of H.E. the Gambian HighCommissioner to India Dembo M Badjie fasttracked the much needed initiative.

Expressing joy over the signing of the MoU,Managing Director of Afro Asian Business

solutions Pvt Limited and Editor-in-Chief of AfroAsian Business Chronicle Renu Malhotra, whoaccompanied the Pushpanjali Team that visitedGambia, said "I am sure this partnership will notonly help bridge the gap in Health Care sector in TheGambia but also generate immense goodwill forIndia." This initiative is in line with our larger goalof helping the developing world achieve balancedgrowth to ensure happiness of the people", she said.

Continued on Page 06

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ENERGISING TIESDURING THE RECENT INDIA VISIT OF HIS HIGHNESS SHEIKH HAMAD BINKHALIFAAL ALTHANI, INDIAAND ENERGY-RICH QATAR, HOME TO HALF

A MILLION INDIANS, SEALED SIX AGREEMENTS IN DIVERSE AREAS, INCLUDING AN OVERARCHING PACT ON COOPERATION IN OILAND GAS

EXPLORATION, REFLECTING INDIA’S BURGEONING TIES IN THE GULF

India and energy-rich Qatar, sealed sixagreements in diverse areas, including anoverarching pact on cooperation in oil and

gas exploration.

A memorandum of agreement was signedbetween the Reserve Bank of India and

Qatar Central Bank

Three agreements were signed in the fieldsof educational exchanges, cultural contacts

and promoting tourism.

The RBI-QCB pact will establish an arrangement for sharing of supervisory

information and enhancing cooperation inthe area of banking supervision.

Another pact on exchange of experiences,information and expertise in the field of

legal affairs was also signed.

To partner the Gambian Government insetting up a Multi Speciality Hospital

Project in the West African country andcapacity building initiatives

Pushpanjali Hospital's Chairman-cum-Managing Director Dr Vinay Aggarwal (First from R) along with Director of Planning &Information of Gambia Dawda Ceesay (2nd from R) showing the MoU in the presence of Hon'ble Fatim Badjie , Minister of Health and

Social Welfare of Gambia (Centre), High Commissioner of Gambia to India H.E. Dembo M Badjie (Extreme L), Renu Malhotra, Editor-in-Chief of Afro Asian Business Chronicle (3rd from L), Executive Director of Pushpanjali Dr Vijay Agarwal (3rd from R) and Director

(Procurement) of Pushpanjali O P Manchanda (Second From L) Photo Courtesy: Embassy of Gambia

INTERVIEW OF THE FORTNIGHTVice President of Zimbabwe >>> africa

BRICS Summit:What it achieved?

>>> india news

GCC-INDIAWidening Trade Basket

>>> asia

volume II | issue 8 | USD 2/INR 90 | April 16-30, 2012

DL NO.: DL(ND)- 11/6152/2011-13 (POSTING DATE 1st TO 4th & 16th TO 20th OF EVERY MONTH)

06 africa April 16-30

Sudan deniesbomb disputed oilfieldSudan has denied its warplaneshad bombed an oilfield seized byforces from South Sudan andblamed the south for any damageto the facility during fighting thathas raged since last week.South Sudan's Information MinisterBarnaba Marial Benjamin toldreporters in Juba that aerial bombardment of the oil facility inthe Heglig region had caused serious damage. 'They are bombing the central processingfacility and the tanks to rubble,' hesaid. The fighting in the border areahas drawn widespread condemna-tion from global powers and raisedfears the former civil war foes couldresume full-blown conflict.The Heglig field was vital toSudan's economy, producing abouthalf of the 115,000 barrel-per-dayoutput that remained in its controlafter South Sudan seceded in July,taking with it about three-quartersof the formerly united country's output.'If any damage has occurred inHeglig it may have been on the partof the army of South Sudan. TheSudanese government chargesSouth Sudan with any damage tothe oil wells and facilities,' Sudan'sInformation Minister Abdallah AliMasar said, according to statenews agency SUNA. Reuters

Documentary On W.AfricanWomen TradersThe ECOWAS Commission and theUnited Nations (UN) are jointly producing a television documentarythat will project the contributions ofwomen in regional cross-border trade.The film seeks to document the chal-lenges faced by women traders andentrepreneurs in the region with aview to raising awareness for advoca-cy to address the challenges. It willalso highlight economic losses due toineffective implementation of the rele-vant ECOWAS Protocol and seek toinfluence policy-makers throughappropriate recommendations on howto improve trade and gender issues inthe region.The documentary will be shot on pilotlocations along the Nigeria-Benin,Liberia-Côte d'Ivoire and Liberia-Sierra Leone borders.Speaking at theproject launch meeting at theCommission's Abuja headquartersrecently, the Commissioner for HumanDevelopment and Gender, Dr. Adrienne Diop, said the projectwas desirable given the strategic rolethat women cross-border traders playin the region. AABC News Bureau

BUSINESS CHRONICLE

Aid taps expected to openfor new Malawi President

Jon Herskovitz from Lilongwe

Malawi's finance minister expectssuspended international aid to berestored under its new president, Joyce Banda, helping propup a budget increasingly under strainafter the previous president pickedfights with overseas donors.

Finance Minister Ken Lipengaalso told Reuters that formerPresident Bingu wa Mutharika, whodied on April 5 of a heart attack, hadblocked plans called for by theInternational Monetary Fund todevalue the currency because he wasworried the move would hurt thepoor.

Aid-dependent Malawi slid into economic crisis over the past year asMutharika, a professorial but temperamental former World Bankeconomist, squabbled with majorwestern donors who then froze millions of dollars of assistance that hadtraditionally bankrolled about 40% of thebudget.

‘I expect the resumption of aid willhappen,’ Lipenga said.

Foreign diplomats showed their support for Banda by visiting her residence even before she had been officially installed, but so far there havebeen no concrete signs the West is prepar-ing to restart the flow of aid. The financeminister has not yet discussed economic policy with Banda since shebecame president but he thinks she willbe able to address some issues that raised

red flags with donors including suppres-sion of human rights and the media.

'The donors were emphasising the con-cerns of the Malawi people,' he said.

Mutharika plunged the country intoisolation last year when he expelled theambassador from former colonial masterand biggest aid donor Britain, who said ina leaked diplomatic cable Mutharika wasautocratic and intolerant of criticism.

In a watershed moment for the normally peaceful state known as the'Warm Heart of Africa' Mutharika's policekilled 20 people in anti-government

protests in July 2011, leading to interna-tional condemnation and a cut of aidpackages from other donors.

DEVALUEDThe IMF, which has suspended a $79

million aid facility due to conflict withMutharika, wants to see Malawi's currency, the kwacha, further devalued,saying too much of the state's preciousreserves are being used to defend it.

Malawi devalued the kwacha last yearto 165 to the dollar from 150. On theblack market, the price is nearly double,reaching 295 to the dollar just beforeMutharika's death. Malawi was one of thefastest growing economies in the worldafter Mutharika took office in 2004, averaging 7% expansion between 2005and 2010 thanks to internationally fundedfertiliser subsidies and seed programmes that turned the nation of subsistence farmers into foodexporters.

But the aid cutoff and Mutharika'ssteadfast ways put the economy on adeath spiral. Lipenga said the economycould return to its fast rate of growth ifaid was restored but added the countryneeded to move away from its biggestcash crop tobacco, which at one pointprovided up to 80% of its foreign currency, by increasing the strength of itsvalue-added businesses.

‘We really need to start generatingforex for ourselves,’ he said.

Reuters

Joyce Banda takes over presidency after Mutharika death, Finance minister says Mutharikablocked plan to devalue currency Says growth could be restored with aid

Six of the world's fastest growing economies are in sub-Saharan Africa among

them Uganda and Ethiopia, according to UK-based economicexperts Ernst & Young.

According to a new report by the consultancy, growth in sub-SaharanAfrica from 2003-2010 averaged5.7% and is expected to have beenover five per cent in 2010 and 2011.

This makes Africa the second fastest-growing region in the worldafter Asia.

The report says that while economic growth hasfailed to address thegap between rich andpoor in Africa, withonly one in four people having accessto electricity, there areindications that thingsare changing.

Africa's long standing problemsare still evident in many countriesfood shortages, high inflation, poverty, corruption and autocracy,the report says. But democracy ismaking strides across the continentand there has been a steady improvement in economic policies.Many African countries have alsopassed significant economic and legislative reforms, making themmuch more business-friendly inorder to attract foreign direct investment. There is also a growing

middle class in Africa estimated ataround 313 million people in 2010,34% of the continent's population,according to the AfricanDevelopment Bank. This period ofgrowth is almost unprecedented forAfrica, the Ernst & Young reportsays.

However, it also notes that sub-Saharan Africa has continued tosuffer from some of its traditionalproblems, including food shortagesresulting from adverse weather conditions in a number of countriesand high inflation, driven by higher

food and fuel prices. There are also

concerns at the lack ofintra-Africa trade whichstill only makes up 10%of total exports and adequate investment in education and health.

Investment in education has been patchy at bestand, with a few exceptions, education and skill levels remainlow, the report says. This will deterinvestors that need a skilled locallabour force. In addition, manyAfrican countries need to improvethe ease of doing business.

However, the report doesacknowledge that many Africancountries have also passed significant economic and legislativereforms, making them much morebusiness-friendly. Agencies

Ethiopia, Uganda among World’sFastest Growing Economies in

Sub-Saharan Africa- E&Y "In line with our mission to provide quality healthcare, collaboration with the Gambian HealthMinistry is the first step towards achieving our goal.We hope that both India and Gambia will be benefitted by this progressive initiative," said VinayAggarwal. As per the Seven-Page

agreement, the medium size Super SpecialityHospital will be established in the PPP(Public Private Partnership) format in Brikamawithin the West Coast Region of The Gambia.

While the Pushpanjali Super Speciality Hospitalwill provide Specialist Doctors in the areas foundfitting in the Region; construct and equip a state ofart super speciality hospital to serve people of theGambia and beyond and provide opportunities ofemployment for Gambian health workers and specialists, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare ofGambia will provide land, road, electricity, water,telecommunication infrastructure and build staffquarters for essential medical staff within the allocated premises. The two parties have agreed toexpeditiously execute this project within six monthsof signing this agreement and any other additionalrequirements for the project will be mutually considered and agreed for implementation.

In the Capacity Building sphere, the two sideshave agreed to work together for various capacitybuilding initiatives - in the short term, mid-term andlong term - including medical exchanges betweenThe Gambia and India, upgrading of facilities at theHospitals in the partner country.

Pushpanjali Hospitals will help the Ministry ofHealth to identify gaps in current healthcare facilities (infrastructure, equipment and skills) andto provide high quality tertiary care services.

One of the key aspects of the agreement is knowledge and skill transfer by training of the doctors, nurses and technicians from the partnercountry to Pushpanjali Hospital in various specialities so that they can go back to their homecountry with additional skill sets.

From Page 01

in brief

Indian Hospital inks MoU with the Gambia

President Joyce Banda