Researchers win new Grant to study the Role of Natural Resources in India-Africa Development Cooperation

The project, starting in October will research a particular aspect of India’s development cooperation activity linked to natural resources in Africa. This element is under-appreciated compared to other countries like China and Brazil, for whom natural resources are often discussed as a major motivator. However, India’s engagement in African oil and minerals is significant.

The project’s central question is how state-business relations and India’s natural-resource strategies affect the country’s development cooperation. This includes analysing where efforts to build bilateral relations have been focused and the rationale behind international partnerships like the Asia-Africa Growth Corridor and International Solar Alliance.

But equally crucial here is the role of India’s private sector. It conducts development activities independently, for instance through corporate social responsibility programmes. Private companies are also important agents in India’s government development cooperation activity, for example through ExIm loans.

Dr Barnaby Dye and Professor Ricardo de Oliveira will be undertaking new research using interviews with key decision-makers and analysis of secondary material. The project seeks to provide a deeper conceptual understanding for the how and why of India-Africa development cooperation in the African context, unearthing new knowledge about India’s development cooperation and what, as well as who, drives its decision making.

This grant is awarded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) who are funding the India-UK Development Partnership Forum (IUKDPF), partly based in the Margret Anstee Centre at the University of Cambridge. The Forum aims to build knowledge and partnerships between India and the UK and is particularly focused on researching the rise of India as a development actor.

For more information regarding the project you can contact the researchers directly via email:

barnaby.dye@manchester.ac.uk or ricardo.soaresdeoliveira@politics.ox.ac.uk