The Atlantic Awakening

From May 1 to 4, 2025, Angolan President João Goncalves Lourenço visited India to consolidate ties with New Delhi. This was the first State visit by an Angolan President after a gap of 38 years. Several MoU’s were signed – most significant being the extension of USD 200 million defence credit line to be utilised for the modernisation of Angolan armed forces. The stated objective of the visit was to commemorate the 40th anniversary of New Delhi and Luanda’s diplomatic relations. However, the strong emphasis on defence engagement begets the question: Is Angola, a country on Africa’s Atlantic Coast, strategically important to India? What does the timing of the visit signify for broader India-Africa engagement?

While Western Indian Ocean littorals on Africa’s eastern seaboard primarily tend to fall under India’s maritime security calculus and strategic imagination, other countries like Angola lying on the Atlantic coast are equally important. Geographical proximity may no longer be the primary matrix through which New Delhi chooses to engage strategically with its African partners. Indian emphasis on ramping up defence and security partnership with Angola is not a breakaway from our past engagement. Rather, it is a testimony to the sustained nature of diplomatic engagement which has characterised India-Africa ties since PM Narendra Modi’s administration took charge in 2014.

Two points are important to note. Firstly, New Delhi’s bilateral engagements with African nations continue to be informed by the specific needs, priorities, and requirements of its African partners. Most of the priorities are enshrined in continental documents like the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the 2050 Africa Integrated Maritime Strategy (AIMS 2050). A consultative, collaborative and equitable engagement may be feasible only when government officials are better informed on the trends and developments across the continent. The knowledge asymmetry between Africa and India in this respect needs to be bridged.

Secondly, Angola has the current chairmanship of the African Union (AU), a body whose entry into the G20 was facilitated by India under its G20 Presidency in 2023. The AU’s inclusion into the G20 was a milestone in India-Africa ties. Not only did it make the G20 more inclusive and representative of African voices, but it also helped New Delhi distinguish itself as an international partner of Africa with a difference.

As the global international order becomes more fragmented with President Donald Trump’s tariff overhaul and growing trade conflict between the United States and China, Africa may soon end up in a tricky situation. African nations may have a difficult choice having to pick sides between the two global powers – something which African leaders have vociferously opined against doing so in the past.

Naturally at this juncture, the role of Angolan President Lourenco as the AU’s chairperson becomes crucial. Whether it is growing terrorism and rising instability in the Sahel, conflicts in Horn of Africa, Sudan’s forever civil war or sustaining the momentum on the progress made under African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, the challenges are huge. Managing these challenges will require African nations to reorganise themselves under the AU and take a unified position on global developments.

Additionally, how the AU can take advantage of becoming a permanent member of G20 is also an important question. Value-added trade and investments from partners like India are what Africa requires. With the necessary financial instruments and models of engagement like Public-Private-Partnerships (PPP), Indian private companies can support Africa’s regional economic integration and help the continent become globally competitive and move higher in the global value chains.

Outcomes of the visit

Various MoU’s in the fields of cultural exchange, ayurveda and traditional systems of medicine and agricultural cooperation were signed between India and Angola. Moreover, Angola also joined the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and is likely to join Indian initiatives like Coalition for Disaster Resilience Infrastructure (CDRI), Big Cat Alliance and Global Biofuel Alliance, in the future. However, the extension of the USD 200 million defence line of credit is of most strategic consequence.

At present, India’s arms supply to Africa accounts for anywhere between 10-15 per cent of its total defence exports. But Africa is increasingly viewed as an important market for the export of domestically manufactured weapons and defence systems from India. New Delhi has been trying to position itself as a reliable and cost-effective option for African militaries to source small arms and sophisticated aircraft. New initiatives like the Africa-India Field Training Exercise (AFINDEX), the India Africa Defence Ministers Dialogue (IADD), which is undertaken on the sidelines of DefEXpo, underscore the importance which India attaches to strengthening its defence engagement with Africa. In the maritime sphere too, India and co-host Tanzania concluded the first-ever ten nation joint naval maritime exercise named Africa-India Key Maritime Engagement (AIKEYME) in April 2025. The goal was to improve interoperability between India and African navies and develop collaborative solutions to address regional maritime insecurities and reinforce New Delhi’s position as a ‘preferred security partner’ and ‘first responder’ to humanitarian disasters in the Indian Ocean Region.

Similarly, India also wants to become a major player in African arms deals and provide repair and overhaul of defence platforms and supplies. In September 2023, India signed a US$ 1 billion deal with Nigeria’s Defence Industries Corporation (DICON) to help Nigeria become self-sufficient in local manufacturing and production of defence equipment. Nigeria, along with Botswana had previously shown interest in acquiring LCA Tejas fighter jet from India but surprisingly withdrew from negotiations in January 2025, without providing any publicly available justification. Egypt has also shown interest in acquiring the Akash air defense missile system but is reported to be also considering other options. India’s cumbersome bureaucratic procedures and delay may be the reason for the deal deemed to have fallen through. Afterall, defence export processes require various regulatory approvals and extensive negotiations.

The extension of USD 200 million defence credit to Angola to encourage the procurement of Indian defence equipment is a welcome development. However, it is imperative that the Indian government ensures that such defence credit lines extended to African countries do not remain unutilised and, subsequently, repurposed for other projects.

On the surface, a country like Angola on Africa’s western seaboard may not seem to be strategically important for India, but greater defence diplomacy by extending defence credit facilities, helping in overhaul, repair and maintenance (ORM) facilities, and holding mini-defence expos indicate India’s desire and capability to meet specific requirements and become an attractive partner of defence sector of various African countries.

The writer is Associate Fellow, Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), New Delhi. Views expressed are personal