India’s Defence Footprint In Africa: A New Strategic Chapter In Global South Cooperation

“Bharat is building the capability to export weapons and equipment for the armed forces. Our goal is to make India one of the world’s top defence exporters. In the last decade, India’s defence exports have increased by more than 30 times,” he said, bolstering the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative amidst the joyous festivities. 

The boisterous announcement from the highest leadership comes less than a month after Rajnath Singh’s maiden visit to Morocco as the Defence Minister. The visit marked a new epoch in Indo-African ties, with the launch of the first Indian defence manufacturing facility on the continent and a strategic push into North Africa. Seen in the broader context of Morocco’s geo-strategic location and the King Mohammed VI’s Royal Atlantic Initiative, it marks a significant milestone in India’s defence footprint in North Africa. The move is likely to create further opportunity for India to expand military ties in the Sahel region, particularly in Mali, Niger, Sudan and Burkina Faso, facing debilitating security challenges. 

In sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria has emerged as India’s biggest defence partner, after the signing of US$1 billion economic and defence deal in September 2023. In August 2025, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Defence, Bello Mohammed Matawalle, was in New Delhi to discuss on further advancing military engagements across multiple domains, including counter-terrorism training, research and development, maritime cooperation, anti-piracy efforts, and defence industry collaboration. Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi was also recently on an official visit to Algeria, and held talks with Algeria’s senior military leadership, to enhance bilateral relations on defence-industrial cooperation. 

Modern Challenges, Deeper Defence Cooperation

Aligned well with India’s comprehensive development policy in Africa, India’s expanding defence cooperation with Africa is guided by multiple factors – driven by strategic interests, geo-political balancing and economic security. India’s oil-import dependent energy needs, with 15 percent of India’s total oil imports sourced from Africa - Nigeria, Angola, Algeria, Egypt and Equatorial Guinea, as well as the increasing demand of critical minerals, with Africa accounting for the 30 percent of global reserves of critical minerals such as cobalt, lithium and graphite, necessities secured supply chains and long-term assurances. 

Similarly, Africa’s maritime security requirements are increasing rapidly. The resurgence of piracy in the Gulf of Aden in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region, the Mozambique Channel, the Gulf of Guinea and the Indian Ocean littoral face several challenges, including trafficking, Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, and terrorism. These are areas of strategic interest for India in the Indian Ocean. Regional security challenges, rise of terrorist activities, and maritime insecurity, together with India’s economic and trade interests, prove to be significant imperatives for India’s defence engagement with the region. 

Emerging Avenues: India’s Defence Diplomacy

Traditionally, training and capacity building through the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC), and deployment of Indian troops for United Nations Peacekeeping (UNPK) missions have been the main pillars of the India-Africa defence engagement. However, as several African countries have been recalibrating their Defence ties as well as India’s increasing momentum in the African region from 2018 onwards, this has made way for more diversified defence engagement and industrial collaborations.

Due to long-standing regional issues, terrorism and civil-war demand for modern weapons has remained buoyant in several African regions. Trends by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) show an increase in international arms transfers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, focusing mainly on combat aircraft, frigates, and anti-ballistic missiles. However, with increasing focus on digital economies and connectivity, the security of digital assets and protecting critical infrastructure is increasingly coming into the ambit of defence and surveillance services. Modern security needs in Africa are further broadening with the increasing demand for cybersecurity tools, drones, unmanned systems, coastal surveillance, as well as space-enabled services. 

India Backs Africa’s Defence Ambitions

With the diversification of defence markets in Africa, it is also discernible that African countries are increasingly seeking partnerships for long-term capacity-building as well as industrial co-production locally to develop a sustainable defence ecosystem. The 2023 agreement with Nigeria also aimed to make the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) 40 percent self-sufficient in local manufacturing and production of defence equipment by 2027, with Indian support in funding and expertise. 

The rich legacy of India-Africa relations, coupled with its technology prowess, has positioned it as a trusted defence partner. Recognising Africa’s increasing strategic importance, India has institutionalised its defence engagement with the continent through platforms like the India-Africa Defence Ministers’ Conclave (IADMC), held alongside DefExpo since 2020.

This highlights India’s strategic objective of advancing security cooperation and strengthening defence partnerships through institutionalised dialogues, collaborative training programs, and technology transfer, while consolidating its strategic influence across the region. This is important, especially as India pursues the ambitious goal of achieving 50,000 crore in defence exports by 2029, announced by the Defence Minister in Thiruvananthapuram in August 2024.

Expanding Reach Through Military Diplomacy

India is also aligning its defence cooperation efforts with countries' specific modernisation goals. In June 2024, India and Tanzania finalised a five-year defence-cooperation roadmap which covers customised training, infrastructure building, maritime cooperation and defence-equipment collaboration. Similarly, India has secured strategic entry with Mauritius for a satellite-tracking station, integrating defence cooperation with data infrastructure and development.

However, to sustain the momentum in a region traditionally dominated by Russia - being the largest exporter of arms to Africa, followed by China and European countries and increasingly Turkey as well, India needs to reinforce its focus on three critical pillars of defence engagement - military diplomacy, industrial cooperation, and arms exports, positioning Indian defence industries as reliable, cost-effective, and trusted suppliers capable of meeting Africa’s evolving security needs.

Co-Producing Security, Building Trust

As Africa’s security needs are shifting towards self-reliance and building indigenous defence capabilities, the conventional seller-buyer relationship is becoming obsolete. An increasing number of African countries are seeking to transition from being passive buyers of foreign systems to co-producers, service hubs or even exporters within Africa’s security landscape. 

India’s establishment of its first overseas defence manufacturing facility, by Tata Advanced Systems in Berrechid, Morocco, is a significant step in local value creation. With a robust defence-industrial base, expertise in low-cost innovation, and a proven track record of training and capacity‐building, India is well-positioned to align with African states’ aspirations for self-reliance rather than over-dependency. 

For India, deeper engagement with Africa not only strengthens its strategic footprint in the Indian Ocean region but also enhances its defence-industrial export prospects and strengthens its position as a trusted partner in the Global South.

(The writer is a geo-political analyst. Views are personal.)