India, US may jointly counter China influence in Africa

NEW DELHI: As China sweeps through Africa with an insatiable appetite for resources, India and US plan to join forces in that continent to offer what they believe is a credible alternative.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Barack Obama are expected to announce new pilot projects in African countries that will utilise Indian and US expertise together. While these are likely to be training projects, they plan to bring together India's capacities and experience and US' deeper pockets.

The idea was born as a spinoff of an India-US dialogue on agriculture. Significantly, India and the US have also been discussing agriculture as the basis for working together in Afghanistan.

India has even been approached by Japan to examine the prospect of joint activities in Africa.