India is committed to work with its partners in Africa for addressing the infrastructure deficit in the region. Addressing the Launch of Africa Manual 2011 in New Delhi on Tuesday, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Textiles Anand Sharma said that India is keen to partner with countries in Africa not only for buying minerals but also providing technology for mining and exploration and value addition with long-term buy-back commitments. He said that India’s infrastructure investments in Africa are in the range of 500 million US dollars annually in the last decade.The Minister exuded confidence that a preferential trading agreement will be concluded by December this year with Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU) . Mr.Sharma informed that New Delhi will be initiating dialogues with Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for exploring the possibility of free trade agreements with these countries.The Commerce Minister said the pan-African e-network project is a shining example of the partnership in the region. The 125 million US dollars Pan African E-network project aims to cover 10,000 students in Africa over 5 year period through 34 learning centers, teaching centers and 15 universities.The Commerce Minister emphasized that, the bilateral trade has increased 15-fold within a decade from a level of barely 3 billion US dollars in 2000 to 46 billion US dollars in 2010. He said the Government is determined to achieve a target of 70 billion US dollars trade well before 2014. Highlighting the importance of agro economy, Mr. Sharma commented that, agriculture has remained a high priority for India and partnership with African agriculture sector is already beginning to take shape.