ADF STAFF
India’s diplomatic engagements on the continent are increasing, and defense has emerged as a key area of cooperation.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Nigeria in November 2024, marking the first visit by an Indian prime minister to the country in 17 years. During the visit, Modi and Nigerian President Bola Tinubu pledged increased collaboration in counterterrorism, intelligence sharing and maritime security.
This aims to help both countries address growing threats in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea. The countries share a strong history of partnership, as both navies have taken part in 47 rounds of the Maritime Partnership Exercise, hosted by India in the western Indian Ocean.
During the visit, Tinubu also named Modi the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger, the country’s second-highest national honor. Tinubu described Modi as having a “very strong commitment to democratic values and norms.”
“Nigeria values its excellent relationship with India and will work to broaden the same for the mutual benefits of our two friendly countries,” Tinubu said in a Deutsche Welle (DW) report.
After years of dormancy, West Africa saw an increase in piracy in 2023, with 22 incidents recorded in the Gulf of Guinea. There were 12 piracy or armed robbery incidents in the Gulf during the first nine months of 2024, according to the International Maritime Bureau.
The Indian Navy has successfully ended some attacks by Somali pirates. In March 2024, it rescued the crew of the Maltese-flagged MV Ruen, which was hijacked off the Somalia coast in December 2023. The Indian Navy captured 35 pirates and took them to Mumbai for trial.
New Delhi established itself as a key security partner in Africa in 2015, when Modi launched his country’s Security and Growth for All in the Region policy. It has contributed troops to several United Nations peacekeeping missions on the continent, including those in Angola, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Somalia.
India has focused much of its military effort in Africa — home to about 3 million Indians — on helping its partners develop self-sufficiency in maintaining military equipment, dock facilities, boats, weapons and aircraft.
“India’s Defence engagement with Africa is a strategic mission that combines strategic interests as well [as] maritime security concerns, and historical relationships,” analyst Tayyah Rehan wrote in Modern Diplomacy. “The quest for regional hegemony and competition with global players, especially China, has become crucial requisites in the formulation of wide oceanic strategies and the enhancement of presence across the Indian Ocean.”
Modi’s government has established monitoring stations in northern Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles to track maritime activity and boost security in the western Indian Ocean, including the Gulf of Aden and the Mozambique Channel. Africa’s eastern coastal waters lie within India’s security perimeter, which led India to deepen its relations with Kenya, Mozambique and Tanzania.
New Delhi provides its African partners with armored vehicles, combat helicopters, offshore patrol craft and other equipment. Mauritius, Mozambique and Seychelles are among the top buyers of Indian-made armaments.
India has helped establish defense academies in Ethiopia, Nigeria and Tanzania, along with a military war game center in Uganda. Indian military trainers have visited Botswana, Lesotho, Mauritius, Namibia, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
In March 2023, India hosted its first India-Africa Army Chiefs Conclave along with its second Africa-India Field Training Exercise in Pune, India. That year, India built a major airstrip and jetty on the tiny Agaléga islands of Mauritius. The facilities can handle Indian Armed Forces Boeing P-8I surveillance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft.
The Agaléga facilities also will enable maritime patrols over the Mozambique Channel, and its staging point will let the Indian Navy observe shipping routes around Southern Africa.
During Modi’s November visit to Nigeria, he and Tinubu also discussed health care, energy, food security, technology, trade and economic development.
“Together we will also continue to highlight at the global level the priorities of the Global South, and thanks to our joint efforts, we will achieve success as well in this,” Modi said in the DW report.
