India has recently disclosed its plans to spend around $1 billion in a new global trade deal with Africa. Indian Ambassador Amarendra Khatua said that the agreement would consist of the improvement of the mining and oil facilities in Africa's Ivory Coast during the next 5 years. According to the official, his nation has sought to avail of the vast and abundant oil resources of the region through the Gulf of Guinea. Moreover, the Indian government has also considered about building new mining and energy facilities in the area. The new global trade deal would also serve to further fortify the alliance between India and Africa.



According to analysts, the global trade deal is vital in India's search for more energy resources outside its territory. Currently, the nation has embarked on looking for more energy and raw materials in order to fuel its rapidly growing economy. India is among the Asian countries that have shown a fast and remarkable economic growth during the recent years. As a result of this phenomenon, the energy demand from both industrial and domestic consumers have also risen.

As India's energy resources fall short before the increasing demand, the government continues to seek more foreign supplies through signing global trade deals on energy. In fact, a large percentage of the nation's energy needs is already covered by foreign supplies. It must be noted that the recent floods that submerge the western part of India has also rouse more fears on energy supplies. Continuous and heavy rains during the past weeks had resulted to floods, which destroyed several petrochemical factories and a natural gas plant in the area. The damaged factories of both Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and Reliance Industries may only account for a minor percentage of India's entire production of energy. Still, the closure of these facilities has affected the country's energy sector and has roused concerns on energy shortage.

According to India's Ambassador to the Ivory Coast, both India and China are in need of securing their current and future energy resources due to their rapid economic development. He added that both countries needed to invest more money on global trade deals covering energy supplies. Needless to say, Mr. Khatua said that a civil war, which lasted until 2003, might pose as a hindrance towards India's plans to venture in Africa's mining and oil industries. He added that there were still plenty of things to be negotiated before his nation could proceed with its plans to make a global trade deal with the region. Currently, the Ivory Coast produces above 60,000 barrels of oil a day. Indian Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) already invested around $12 million in the exploration of an offshore oil resource in the place. Meanwhile, India's economy continues to expand with the increase of foreign investments. More foreign companies have been attracted by the country's improvement and are looking for business opportunities in the region. The government though was warned to increase its investments on infrastructure projects in order to cover the long term needs of its growing economy.