The Horn Of Africa States: The India Ties – OpEd

The Horn of Africa States and India have a long history together although this is not talked about much. It was not only commerce and trade that connected them but they were connected as people of the same origin and through empires and empire building. They were connected through spirituality, religiosity and writing. Indeed, the Indian Ocean basin, was once the center of world commerce and especially the northern part, the Somali Sea, where trade flourished between the region and the sub-continent.

Indians, like in many other countries of the world, had always had a prominent presence either as traders, quasi-citizens/residents and/or clerks and soldiers for the British Empire, which deployed them in the vast number of countries, it controlled during the colonial period. Many have stayed and many of them have inter-married with Horn Africans while still others have become prominent personalities in the political life of the world and the region where they have fathered or mothered many of the politicians of the region.

During the periods that followed the independence of the region, many have stayed and did not return to India. They literally became the backbone of trade and business of East Africa and even Somalia and other countries of the region. However, after the collapse of the civilian and military governments of the region in the early nineties, the region is marked by the absence of India and Indians from the region.

This may be understandable for the Indian individuals, because of the chaos and massive insecurity in the region, involving terror groups and infights based on tribal and clan affiliations of the locals, but inexplicable for the Indian government. Its security envelope must have contingencies for the Horn of Africa States region, a geostrategic location which links Asia, Africa, Arabia, and the rest of the world through the Suez Canal.

The only time India participated and showed its interest with respect to the region was its participation in the early nineties in the United Task Force (UNITAF), and the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM), when 4,600 Indian peacekeepers participated in UNSOM II and UNITAF participated in patrolling the coasts of Somalia to fight piracy. It also participated in the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) since 2009. In all cases, India acted only as a participant in efforts generated by others, but it never on its own initiated a project to protect its interests nor help the region as a partner in business and security.

It is even stranger to note that one of the leaders of the region, President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud of Somalia, is reported to have studied in India and it should have been one of the early contacts in the foreign policy of his administration. However, despite travelling extensively and being accused of being both the country’s foreign minister and president at the same time, the President appears not to see India as a potential partner. Neither does India see Somalia as a potential partner in its security apparatus involving the Indian Ocean, where both are members of the rim countries of the Indian Ocean.

Somalia is one of the countries which qualify for India’s Duty-Free Tariff Preference (DFTP), which is a government of India unilateral scheme for least developed economies – part of the South-South arrangements initiated by India. Somalia’s foreign trade, however remains small compared to other countries such as the Arabian countries of Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the United Arab Emirates, and even distant China. Because of the lack of basic statistics in Somalia, it is difficult to provide exact statistical numbers for the volume of trade of Somalia.

However, neighboring Ethiopia, a member of the Horn of Africa States region, reports that it trade volume with India is on the rise. According to New Business Ethiopia, the trade volume between the two countries in 2019 – 2020, recorded US$ 1.27 billion, with Ethiopia exporting products like coffee, pulses and clothing to India and importing pharmaceuticals, machinery and equipment, textiles and garments, electronic products and others from India. Djibouti and Eritrea also deal with India but trade volumes remain minuscule compared to trade volumes with other competitor countries like China.

India suffers from terrorism as much as Somalia does, and the region in general. Other than traditional trade, this would be an area where the two regions, and more specifically Somalia and India, should have worked together to create collectively a stable, peaceful and secure environment. Somalia could benefit from the counter-insurgency experiences of India in tackling the terror groups in its country.

The Horn of Africa States region is busy on its own travails and perhaps does not see beyond its nose. It is where India, is perhaps required to take first steps in the direction of building closer ties and in particular since both regions know each other throughout history. India should ally its foreign policy to the beleaguered region and especially Somalia which faces it across the Indian Ocean.