SOURCE: Star Africa
Women and youth often suffer from poverty in Africa and India, when they should be taking a more active role in the development of their nations, South African President Jacob Zuma said in New Delhi on Thursday.Addressing the two-day India-Africa Forum Summit in New Delhi, themed "Partners in Progress: Towards a Dynamic and Transformative Development Agenda," Zuma said one focus of the partnership between India and Africa will therefore be on the skilling of the marginalised youth and women in Africa.

He said Africa was keen to share India's experiences in vocational training in small-scale industries and entrepreneurial development that would enable African women and youth to gain meaningful employment in small-size factories at low levels of capital intensity.

"We are pleased to note that the Africa-India Forum Summit encompasses a broad arena of capacity building, agricultural infrastructure development, health and food security and technological ambitions.

"It is imperative that the collaboration at the continental level be mutually beneficial and take into account the African Union's Agenda 2063 Vision and the integration agenda of Africa," Zuma said, adding that the current India-Africa Partnership was a vital tool in the development of both partners.

Zuma said the aim of the summit was embedded in the theme to ensure a new focus on specific areas of cooperation, thereby fulfilling the promise of a better life for all Africans and Indians.

Seen in the context of South-South Cooperation, the President said Africa and India had played crucial roles in addressing the challenges of underdevelopment, economic and political marginalisation through cooperation and partnerships.