Competing Political Interests in Africa from India and China

Featured Speaker: Chayanika Deka, Ph.D.

India and China’s engagement with Africa has
increased rapidly in recent years. India’s synergy
with African countries dates back centuries to when
both India and Africa embarked on the exchange
of experience through trade and commerce in the
Indian Ocean. China’s involvement with Africa
increased in 2013 with its launch of the Belt and
Road Initiative, expanding its economic pathway
toward Europe via Africa and Central Asia. China now
has the major commercial footprint in Africa.

Presenter Biography

Chayanika Deka is Adjunct Faculty
at the Department of Political Science and
International Relations at UC San Diego. She has
a Ph.D. in International Relations from Jawaharlal
Nehru University, New Delhi, India. In India,
she worked as an Assistant Professor in the
Department of Political Science at Assam Royal
Global University. She was also a Research Fellow
at the Indian Council of World Affairs in New
Delhi. She also worked as Research Assistant at
the Foundation for National Security Research, a
New Delhi-based think-tank.

Coordinator: Kamesh Gupta