In a bid to strengthen its relationship with the African continent, India will open 18 new diplomatic missions across Africa.
The Indian Finance Minister, Ms Nirmala Sitharaman, in her maiden Budget speech, recently announced that the government intends to open 18 new embassies in Africa in the year 2019-2020.
Stating that the government had decided to open new Missions where India did not have a permanent resident mission, she said, “This will not only increase the footprint of India’s overseas presence, but also enable us to provide better and more accessible public services, especially to the local Indian community in these countries.”
The embassies will be opened in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape-Verde, Chad, Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Mauritania, Rwanda, Sao Tomé & Principe, Somalia, Swaziland and Togo.
According to India, these embassies will strengthen its relations with Africa. The country also reminded that it has already opened 29 embassies in the continent.