Global India Dialogue Series

Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi (centre) with the African leaders during a dinner hosted on the sidelines of the 3rd India Africa Forum Summit, in New Delhi, taken on October 28, 2015, taken on October 28, 2015

India is globally connected in a multitude of ways. The Global India Dialogue Series addresses emerging issues that do not usually receive the attention they deserve, and need to be addressed more systematically in India's external engagement. In the Dialogue Series, perspectives from outside of India are invited, in order to sensitize the general public, academics and civil society on India's global position on vital issues such as equitable growth, climate change and gender justice. In the first three events, the focus has been on India-Africa relations and the role of the Indian diaspora.

The Global India Dialogue Series is a joint initiative of the Organization for Diapora Initiatives (ODI) and hbs India.

all issues

India and Indian Diaspora in East Africa: Past Experiences and Future Challenges. Lecture discussion by Dr. Gijsbert Oonk, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, Netherlands.

The lecture drew attention on various aspects of India and Indian Diaspora in East Africa, which is largely a business community and is an old Diaspora in the region. The community is integrated though still considered a ‘heritage resource’ for the host and home countries. Their experiences are diverse in the countries they are in and it is important to understand this in order to assess potential towards bettering bilateral relations between India and these countries namely, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.

India –Nigeria engagement: History, diaspora and emerging dimensions. Lecture discussion by Prof. Olutaya C.Adesina, University if Ibadan, Nigeria.

The political, social, economic and cultural India-Nigeria engagement started well before both countries’ political independence from Britain. The ties run deep with India becoming one of Nigeria’s largest trading partners since bilateral relations were established in 1958. The talk highlighted long-standing Diaspora engagement between the two countries and the new dimension and potential that this relationship has in the context of emerging realities.