Editor's Note 
Believe it or not, the very mention of Africa floods my mental screen with images of animals, athletes, giant-sized monarchs and, of course, the Phantom. I still remember the sultry May afternoon in 1964 when as an 8-year child I ambled into a Chennai cinema hall to watch Hatari, a film about the activities of a group of individuals based in Tanganyika to capture wild animals for zoos and circuses. The child in me rejoiced over the brave fight of African animals than John Wayne's heroics.  Read the Note. 
  

A Big Deal 
Entire Africa is resonating with a new drumbeat. NEPAD is the name of the tune wafting across the airwaves. Will this new mantra transport Africa into higher realms of growth and prosperity?  Read the Article.  
 

A Whale of Opportunity  
General sense of optimism about Africa among global business community has changed the perception of "Dark Continent" and its bleak future. Countries have fallen in line to venture into the treasure continent. Jayanta Sarkar investigates the sudden change in mood.  Read the Article. 
   

Africa, the New El Dorado  
INDIA'S Relationship with Africa dates back to 3000 BC. Indian traders would not have ventured into the African continent but for business. Contrary to the popular belief, Africans were affluent and mobile then.  Read the Article.  
   

Bagful of Ideas
India has been a major training ground for many developing countries. African High Commissioner Prof. Mike Obquaye of Ghana, on completion of his first year in India, unlocks his mindscreen to share where India and Africa can cooperate to mutual benefit, and in the process assist Africa out of the strangulation of colonialization and globalisation.  Read the Article.      
     

Hunger: The Worst Enemy 
DESPITE substantial socio- economic gains in many African countries over the last thirty to forty years, hunger remains a major threat to many people, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. In 1998-2000, more than a quarter of the population of Africa was chronically undernourished (202 million people). The prevalence of under nourishment in Sub-Saharan Africa has declined only slightly over the past two decades, from 36 percent to 33 percent. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates a decline in the proportion of undernourished people in Sub- Saharan Africa to 22 percent by 2015. Read the Articles.
  

I Love India: No Romance, But Fact of Life
You will never find India has worked negatively against any of the African countries. Never. That was India's attitude even before it attained Independence.   Read the Article.
  

INTERVIEW: 'It's a virgin market' 
Most of the African economy is heavily import reliant. Industrialization of the economy is yet to take off. Any exporter would love to explore a virgin market. We did just that.  Read the Interview.   
    

My Tryst With Africa: Tanzania, The Most Refugee-friendly  
I SPENT time in southern Sudan (1983-84 and 1986), handling Ugandan refugees. The world has turned full circle. Now Uganda is hosting Sudanese refugees. In my first spell, UNHCR assisted over 200,000 refugees. What led to the exodus of Ugandans into Sudan was more complex than the Idi Amin factor.  Read the Article. 
    

Past Legacies & Future Prospects  
THE EUROPEAN "Scramble for Africa" is one of the famous chapters in African history. Though the brutal and monstrous Trans-Atlantic slave trade started in 1441 during which an estimated 13 million persons were transported from Africa, it is the scramble for Africa that laid the foundation of the inherited boundaries in Africa following the decolonisation era. Slicing Africa into what is' sometimes called "handkerchief states", the occupying powers in their bid to exploit the resources of their colonies established arbitrary boundaries cutting across many nations, nationalities and groups.  Read the Article. 
    

Focus Africa: lot of substance (Interview with Prabir Sengupta, Director-General, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade)  
In, 'Focus: Africa', the main thrust is on trade promotion. Trade and investment are interrelated; there is no doubt that all those areas, which I have mentioned will attract investment - today, tomorrow or day after.  Read an Interview. 
    

Rediscovering Relationship: Bi-polar World, Yes; Uni-polar, No  
INDIA IS an age-long friend of Africa. You cannot recap the struggle for independence in Africa without emphasizing that the anti-colonial struggle, which Ghana happened to be at the forefront, took a huge cue from events in India soon after the Second World War. Indeed, the Asian struggle of Independence led by India under Nehru, inspired the African struggle for self-emancipation led by Ghana under Kwame Nkrumah.  Read the Article. 
    

Rise, My Beloved Country  
EXTERNAL EXPERT OPINION IS NO MATCH FOR NATIVES' OBSERVATION OF ANY COUNTRY. UN SECRETARY-GENERAL KOFI ANNAN, AN AFRICAN HIMSELF, FITS THE BILL PERFECTLY TO TAKE A HARD LOOK AT THE ILLS AFFLICTING HIS CONTINENT. OK HIS PRESCRIPTION?  Read the Article. 
    

The African Phoenix  
THAT'S HOW the first European to visit Rwanda gave vent to his feelings on glimpsing the Central African nation. The year: Circa 1858. Ideally the Arab traders, familiar with the territory, should have walked away with this glory. What kept them away was the "mysterious kingdom" tag pinned on Rwanda.  Read the Article. 
    

The UN Prescription  
Much more needs to be done to eliminate trade barriers that continue to impede African exports. These obstacles include agricultural subsidies in developed countries that tend to flood world markets with surplus food supplies and hinder the export of African farm produce, along with other tariff and non-tariff barriers.  Read the Article. 
    

"We're a well-behaved country"  
Dr Charles Murigande visited India in end-March on a four-day tour. Before emplaning for Kigali, he spoke to DIPLOMATIST Managing Editor William Hawke and Editor Ramesh Kumar in Delhi.  Excerpts...  
    

Winds of Change  
SWEEPING developments are taking place throughout the continent of Africa today. The end of the Cold War has ushered in a new era of democratization and market-oriented economies. Following the ending of apartheid in South Africa in 1994, the continent has entered a new stage in its socio-political development. A new Pan-African body, the African Union (au) on the lines of the European Union (eu) was formally inaugurated in Durban, South Africa, in July 2002.  Read the Article.