The four-day summit in New Delhi was attended by 54 leaders of African nations.
A strong pitch for UN Security Council reforms and "joint cooperation" against terrorism was among the key highlights of the 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit which wrapped up on Thursday. The four-day summit in New Delhi was attended by 54 leaders of African nations.
Speaking at the event, PM Modi said "India and Africa must speak in one voice" for UN reforms and pledged a concessional credit of $10 billion to the continent over the next five years.
A cultural show was part of the closing ceremony organized by the Ministry of External Affairs in conjunction with Delhi International Arts Festival. Themed 'Africa in India', the event at Nehru Park in central Delhi was an evening with artists from India and many African nations including Congo, Nigeria, Zambia, Ghana, Ethiopia and Egypt.
Choka Bonga, a group from Zambia, had a traditional dance performance with drums and bongos that depicted a story of friendship. Speaking to NDTV, Emanuel, one of the performers from the group said, 'This week's summit had brought not just the political and business leaders closer but also the people of India and Africa'.
The artists from the event also performed at the President's banquet at Rashtrapati Bhawan in presence of the heads of state of 54 African nations.
Ministry of External affairs and New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) also held a week of cultural events in Delhi with a focus on African culture.
'These cultural shows will being about awareness amongst Delhiites about the African people and perhaps a warmer environment will enhance capacity building, one of the key ambitions of the summit,' said Prathiba Prahlad, Director Delhi International Arts festival.
The summit concluded with commemoration of postage stamps and coins. It was also decided that in the future, the India-Africa summit will be held every five years instead of three to allow enough time for stocktaking.