Asia Africa Growth Corridor

The Asia-Africa Growth Corridor or AAGC is a product of India and Japan’s co-envision. This plan was envisioned during the 52nd Annual Meeting of the African Development Bank (AfDB) summit in Gandhinagar, between 22 May to 26 May 2017.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that India and Japan aim to develop cooperation in Africa.

The AAGC is seen as a response to China’s Belt and Road Initiative. This idea comes from the cooperation amongst two of Asia’s largest democracies. This aligns interest under Abe’s 2006 notion of an Asian Arc of Freedom and Prosperity and democratic security cooperation.

This article discusses the Asia-Africa Growth Corridor to help UPSC prelims aspirants prepare. They can check the points to prepare IAS or UPSC notes for short and long questions.

What are the Key Points of the Asia-Africa Growth Corridor?

The Asia-Africa Growth Corridor is an agreement between India-Japan for the socio-economic development of Asia and Africa.

Nevertheless, here are the critical points of the agreement.

• This initiative aims to develop digital connectivity and communications in Africa through Indo-Japan collaboration.
• AAGC primarily focuses on agro-processing and agriculture, pharmaceuticals and health, skill enhancement and disaster management.
• It aims to prepare a sustainable growth strategy for the masses by encouraging various stakeholders.

Apart from these factors, students should know that the Asia-Africa Growth Corridor is based on four pillars.

• Improving skills and capacity.
• Developing institutional and infrastructure connectivity.
• People-to-People partnership.
• Growth of cooperation projects.

AAGC agreement implements ways to achieve these goals for sustainable development.

Also read, India-Japan Relations

How is AAGC important for Asia and Africa?

AAGC initiative will open opportunities in the resilient economies of Africa and Asia. Following are the advantages of the agreement.

• Asian and African regions will help expand existing value chains, achieve sustainable growth, technical and economic cooperation and create new production channels.
• This initiative will support the highly skilled software professionals in India to ensure superior output.
• It employs quick-fix solutions and frugal innovations that result in affordable and quality production. This again helps in meeting international service standards.
• African countries can now replicate the techniques of single-window custom clearance via SWIFT practised in India.
• Asia-Africa Growth Corridor initiative will help Afro-Asian countries to boost exports and industrialise. This would be a lucrative opportunity for Indian Ocean Rim Association countries.
• AAGC initiative will incorporate existing programmes of partner countries for sustainable growth. This will again encourage industries to boost production for exports.

Students preparing for competitive exams like UPSC 2022 can check how to make this initiative successful. This will help them answer the Asia Africa Growth Corridor UPSC confidently.

What should be done to make AAGC effective?

• Japan and India should initiate joint pilot projects and involve a few African countries in areas like agriculture, health and blue economy.
• These countries should accept and adopt technological changes for sustainable growth.
• They should create synergy among themselves, leverage scope for development and proactively engage with willing partners.

Individuals should know that AAGC is designed to respond to sustainable and equitable growth. The programs are based on mutual trust and equal partnership among the participating continents.

Hopefully, this article discusses the vital points on Asia-Africa Growth Corridor and the related factors. They can keep a tab on news reports and educational portals for a detailed analysis of AAGC.

This will help IAS and UPSC exam aspirants prepare notes for long and short questions.

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