Outlining India's strong commitment in supporting Africa in its development journey, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar today said that any broader global rebalancing is incomplete without the genuine re-emergence of the Africa.<br />'' <br />''In an address at a conclave on India-Africa partnership, Dr Jaishankar said, only after genuine emergence of Africa, world's strategic diversity will come into full play.<br />'' <br />''He said, New Delhi welcomes the evolution and rise of the continent as a key factor in the contemporary world.<br />'' <br />''The Minister also talked about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and said its consequences will be far-reaching and will define the world order as de-colonisation did in 1950s and 1960s.<br />'' <br />''He said, the pandemic is the most debilitating global event of the past 80 years and we are at a point in history that is comparable to the aftermath of the Second World War.<br />'' <br />''Dr Jaishankar said, the pandemic has infected more than 31 million people and killed nearly 9 lakh 60 thousand people around the world.<br />''   <br />''The External Affairs Minister said, the challenge to the global economy, to the reliability of supply chains and the achievement of the sustainable development goals should not be discounted.<br />'' <br />''He said, we are certainly looking at greater unpredictability as we do at greater multipolarity.<br />''   <br />''On Africa's development journey, Dr Jaishankar said India is committed to supporting the countries in the continent as per their individual priorities and our shared ethics.<br />'' <br />''He said India's relationship with Africa is based on four key pillars — development partnership, trade, people-to-people contact and cooperation in defence and security sector.<br />'' <br />''The Minister said India is also looking at the continent for cooperation in the energy sector.<br />'' <br />''He said, for India, Africa's rise as one of the global system's poles is not just desirable but it is absolutely necessary.<br />'' <br />''In fact it is fundamental to our foreign policy thinking.<br />'' <br />''The External Affairs Minister said, India has been enhancing engagement with Africa in the last few years.<br />''   <br />''He said, since 2015, 34 high-level visits at the level of the President, Vice President and the Prime Minister have taken place to Africa and this is unprecedented for such a span.<br />'' <br />''Dr Jaishankar said, around 100 African leaders visited India in the last six years for bilateral and multilateral meetings.<br />'' <br />''He said, India now has residential missions in 38 African countries and more missions are being set up.<br />'' <br />''<span style="color: #222222;">He added that India has executed 194 developmental projects in 37 African countries and is currently working to complete 77 additional ones in 29 countries, with a total outlay of 11.6 billion dollars.</span><br />