India has made a commitment to increase ties with African nations to boost infrastructure and technology development, according to India’s Minister of State of External Affairs Shashi Tharoor. "Priority areas of cooperation include infrastructure development, capacity-building, agriculture, health and food security and technology cooperation," Tharoor told the UN General Assembly convened to discuss Africa’s development.
India has given over $3 billion of concessional lines of credit to African countries with New Delhi set to increase that amount to $5.4 billion over the next five years. Tharoor said that $500 million had been granted for projects in areas such as higher education, science, IT, agriculture, and renewable energy over the next five years. The minister described “The Pan African E-network project” as "one of the most far-reaching initiatives undertaken by India.”