India is preparing to host a two-day summit of leaders of key African countries in a bid to deepen engagement with the continent. The meeting that starts Tuesday is an effort by India to raise its political profile in the resource-rich region.
印度正在筹备主办一个为期两天的、由关键的非洲国家领导人参加的高峰会议，希望进一步加深与非洲大陆的联系。星期二开始的这个会议是印度为了提高它在资源丰富的非洲地区的政治地位所做出的努力。
The line-up of African leaders attending the summit in New Delhi spans the entire continent - from Egypt in the north to South Africa.
参加在新德里举行的印非高峰会议的非洲领导人涵盖了从北部的埃及到南非的整个大陆。
Indian Junior Foreign Minister, Anand Sharma, says both India and Africa represent developing regions with shared challenges, and have much to share.
印度副外交部长阿南德.夏尔马说，印度和非洲都代表那些面临相同挑战的发展中地区，而且有很多共同点。
"Both the sides are of this considered view that this summit is not only historic, but will give a new dimension and momentum to the partnership that is there and evolving between Africa and India," said Sharma.
他说：“我们双方都持这样的看法，即这次高峰会议不仅具有历史意义，而且还将给非洲和印度之间业已存在而且正在不断演变的夥伴关系提供新的深度和动力。”
The Indian foreign minister says both sides will collaborate in areas like agriculture, food security, human-resource development, and infrastructure development.
这位印度副外交部长表示，双方将在农业、食品安全、人力开发以及基础设施建设方面进行合作。
Political analysts say India is hosting the summit to rectify what they call New Delhi's neglect of Africa in recent decades.
政治分析人士说，印度主办这次高峰会议是为了矫正他们所说的最近几十年来新德里对非洲的忽视。
India once shared close ties with the continent, and staunchly supported the African independence struggle against colonial rulers. But its influence waned in recent decades as it focused on building closer ties with United States and Europe.
印度曾经同非洲大陆拥有紧密的关系，而且在非洲国家对抗殖民统治者的独立斗争中给予了他们坚定的支持。但是在最近几十年的时间里，随著印度把注意力集中在建立同美国和欧洲更紧密的关系上，它在非洲的影响逐渐减少。
Analysts say India wants to ensure it is not left behind by China, which has made deep inroads into the continent. African countries are emerging as a big market for Indian goods as they post strong growth.
分析人士说，印度要确保它不会落在已经在非洲大陆渗透很深的中国的后面。由于非洲国家强劲的增长，它们正在成为印度产品的一个巨大的市场。
India also wants to tap Africa's huge reservoir of resources for its growing economy. India is already competing fiercely with China for some of these assets, especially energy sources.
印度还希望开发非洲巨大的资源蕴藏量为它高速发展的经济服务。印度已经正在同中国在非洲的一些资产上，特别是能源，展开激烈的竞争。
An African expert at New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University, A.K.Pasha, says Africa is emerging as the new global oil hub.
新德里尼赫鲁大学的非洲问题专家帕夏说，非洲正在成为新的全球石油中心。
"India's rapid economic growth forces it to have secure sources of energy, both oil and gas away from the volatile Gulf area," said Pasha. "Large number of deals have been finalized with countries like Egypt, Libya, Algeria to Nigeria, and now we are looking for Angola and Gabon."
India's trade with African countries is growing steadily, and added up to more than $20 billion last year. But experts say that is far below potential, and point to China's $55 billion trade with the continent in the same period.
Analysts say New Delhi also wants greater political influence in Africa so that it can get support from the continent's big bloc of nations on global issues such as reform of the U.N. Security Council, world trade negotiations and climate change.
But the task of wooing Africa may not be easy. African countries say they want partners who will treat them as equals and help them modernize their economies - not simply exploit their resources.
The countries attending the summit, the first of its kind, include Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Libya, Algeria, Senegal, South Africa, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. |