New Delhi, Apr 8 (ANI): Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today said India wished to see the 21st century as the "Century of Asia and Africa" with the people of both continents working together to promote inclusive globalization.

Addressing the first ever Indo-Africa Forum Summit here, Dr. Singh proposed that both continents work towards the establishment of an India-Africa Volunteer Corps that is devoted to development work. He also reiterated the belief that "only by investing in the creative energies of our youth the potential of our partnership will be fulfilled as India and Africa are blessed with young populations."

Dr. Singh also announced a Duty Free Tariff Preference Scheme for Least Developed Countries to mark a beginning in the long history of civilisational contacts, friendship and cooperation between India and Africa.

Under this scheme, India will provide preferential market access for exports from all fifty least developed countries, 34 of which are in Africa, and will cover 94 percent of India's total tariff lines. Products covered in the scheme include cotton, cocoa, aluminium ores, copper ores, cashew nuts, cane sugar, ready-made garments, fish fillets and non-industrial diamonds.

He described Africa as "our Mother Continent and the land of awakening of the Father of our Nation, Mahatma Gandhi," adding that "the dynamics of geology might have led our lands to drift apart, but history, culture and the processes of post-colonial development have brought us together once again."

"Ever since independence, our former Prime Ministers like Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi have been ardent champions of the cause of Indo-African cooperation. We pay tribute to the political leaders and intellectuals of Africa who fought for Africa's emancipation, empowerment and laid the vision of pan-Africanism in the 20th Century," Dr. Singh said.

He said the transfer of knowledge and human skills would strengthen the mutual capabilities, while the emerging common challenges of food security, energy security, pandemics, terrorism and climate change should have cooperative mechanisms for exchange of views, consultation to work out common strategies for addressing these pressing issues.

While emphasizing the need to create regional and pan-African institutions of higher education, Singh proposed to double the long-term scholarships for higher courses and increase the number of training slots under the technical assistance programmes from 1100 to 1600 every year to enhance opportunities for African students in pursuing higher studies in India.

At the end of the Summit, a blueprint for India-Africa dialogue and engagement in the 21st Century will be provided in the Delhi Declaration and the Africa-India Framework for Cooperation. (ANI)