Demba Camara, Counsellor of Economic and Commercial Affairs, Senegal in New Delhi.
Demba Camara, Counsellor of Economic and Commercial Affairs, Senegal in New Delhi.
Aerial view of the city of Dakar, the capital and largest city of Senegal. Its position – Dakar is the westernmost city on the African mainland – is an advantageous departure point for trans-Atlantic and European trade and has aided its growth into a major regional port
DC: One of our main focus is to bring the private sectors of both India and Senegal together to develop this partnership. We realise that there is no large and efficient partnership between the private sectors of the two countries. We are pushing the Chamber of Commerce in Senegal to connect with Indian industry bodies such as ASSOCHAM, FICCI, FIEO and others, to improve cooperation between the private sectors of the two countries. FIEO has already sent a draft MoU to the Chamber of Commerce and this draft will focus on the promotion of trade. We see a lot of opportunities for India in Senegal. Last year, we had organised a big trade fair in Senegal, which had seen the participation of thirty Indian companies. Ten were members of FIEO and the rest were members of ASSOCHAM. It was a fantastic opportunity for them to exhibit their products, meet buyers and explore business opportunities in Senegal. I should also take this opportunity to remind everyone that we have a trade agreement with India in place since 1974. In 2008, we signed a new agreement with India for the promotion and protection of investment because we have big Indian conglomerates like the Tata Group now investing in Senegal. Moreover, several Indian real estate companies are exploring the market in Senegal as there is a huge market for low-cost housing.
TDB: Senegal has had a trade deficit of at least a billion dollars for the last several years, largely due to imports of finished and semi-finished products. How do you plan to reduce it?
DC: We have been facing trade deficits because we are not an industrialised economy. Despite this, we have had a minor surplus with India for the past several years. However, it has turned into a big deficit since 2011. We have started importing a lot of Indian products, but our exports is restricted to just one or two products, like phosphoric acid. Hence, this deficit. But as I mentioned earlier, we are looking at strengthening the partnership between private players of both India and Senegal to reduce the trade deficit. We have our trade promotion agents who are putting in a lot of effort to promote Senegal in countries such as US and Europe. We are also seriously looking at our tourism sector, which we think has enormous potential. Also, we want to export more of cotton and minerals. Gold is another commodity that we want to export to India. A lot of European and Israeli companies are currently exploring gold mines in Senegal. In fact, a delegation of Senegalese trade agents would be vising India in March next year to create awareness about Senegal. Further, a lot of Senegalese traders too are not aware of the opportunities that India offers. We are also trying to educate our exporters as to which sectors they should look at when it comes to India. In the long run, I am sure these initiatives will help reduce our trade deficit.
TDB: To what extent is tourism being looked at to encourage Indian investment? What initiatives are being taken to promote ‘Destination Senegal’?
DC: If you look at our economic data, the tourism sector is the second largest forex earner for Senegal. One of our key focus areas is, actually, tourism. We will soon start educating Indian private players regarding opportunities in the tourism sector in Senegal. We have a 700 km long coastline and have strategies in place to develop it to promote tourism. We have specific agencies who are developing the tourism sector in Senegal. Unfortunately, Indians still don’t consider West Africa as a tourist destination. Indian tourists typically visit Kenya, Uganda or South Africa but not West African countries. West African countries are still developing as tourist destinations. Last year in June, we participated in a commercial session to show how tourism in Senegal offers a plethora of opportunities to investors. We have been in talks with the Taj Group in this context.
TDB: In what way do you think has the Team 9 project (in 2004 India had launched an initiative called Techno-Economic Approach for Africa–India Movement together with 8 energy & resource rich West African nations) helped foster economic cooperation between India and West Africa?
DC: Team 9 continues to help develop India’s trade partnership with West Africa, including Senegal. A lot of developmental projects have become a reality in West Africa only because of India’s generous Lines of Credit (LoC) offered to West African nations. India has been extending continuous LoC to Senegal for various projects and the cumulative amount has now crossed the $200-million mark. In Senegal, sectors such as education, agriculture and rural electrification have benefitted from the project.
TDB: Which Indian products have good potential in the Senegalese B2B and B2C markets?
DC: I think automobile spare parts have a huge potential. Although a small quantity is exported to Senegal today, there’s much bigger market that can be tapped. Similar is the case with pharmaceutical products. We want to import generic medicines but regulations are not allowing Indian pharmaceutical companies to export much to Senegal. India can, and I am sure will, export real estate services to Senegal in the not so distant future.
TDB: What are the main challenges that hinder Senegal’s trade and investment relationship with India? How do you think these can be addressed?
DC: As I said earlier, the private sectors of India and Senegal are not connected. I believe it is a big hurdle that we need to overcome. Also, we have to set up a proper mechanism to facilitate trade between companies. The regulatory framework in India is also a challenge since different states have different rules. We certainly need to develop a mechanism to address this challenge.
TDB: Is there anything in the pipeline when it comes to collaboration between Indian and Senegalese SMEs?
DC: We have started looking at this aspect too. Last year, in March, the Director General for SMEs in Senegal was in India to forge a partnership with local SMEs. We are also looking at signing MoUs with the government and see how a partnership can be developed that will benefit both Senegalese and Indian SMEs. We are optimistic that the MoU will be signed before the end of this year. The Director General of a Senegalese bank had also visited India early this year to sign an agreement with the Indian Overseas Bank, which would help a few Indian SMEs to come to Senegal.
TDB: What are your expectations from the new government in New Delhi?
DC: Diplomatic relationship between Senegal and India started way back in 1962. It’s an old partnership. The new Indian Prime Minister too knows African countries very well. You will find several Gujarati companies in Africa. I am sure the next India-Africa Forum will see new opportunities to develop India-Senegal relationship. We respect the new government and have a lot of expectations from it. Hopefully, we will see a lot of investment coming in from India to Senegal in the near future.
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