Page 50 - Diplomatists Nov

SP E CIAL REPOR T

HOW

COVID-19

WILL

RESHAPE

AFRICA’S

TIES WITH

INDIA

BY H.E. PROF DR AMBASSADOR TAL EDGARS*

hose who believe in cyclical theories of
history argue the infamous stock market
Tcrash of 1929 signalled the failure of
markets and paved the way for a bigger state, which
then led to the New Deal in America and welfare
states in Europe.
Fast forward to the 1970s and it was the turn
of the state to overreach as big government proved
unable to resolve intractable economic and social
problems. This paved the way for the return of the
markets via Reaganism and Thatcherism and an
economic consensus that even centre-left social
democrats ended up accepting.
Now fast forward again to where we are today.
Some contend that in years to come we will look
back at the coronavirus crisis as a major corrective
because the Great Recession of 2008- 2012 arrived
after the markets had once again overreached and
- together with the Great Lockdown - these two
crises are paving the way for a much bigger and
more interventionist debate.
During the 15th Confederation of Indian
Industry-EXIM Digital Conclave on India-
Africa partnership, Minister of External Aff airs
S Jaishankar emphasised that Africa is “India’s
priority”, and “For India, Africa’s rise as one of
the global system’s poles is not just desirable, it is

50 • Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 8 • Issue 9 • November 2020, Noida