Sunil Mittal appointed co-chair of India Africa Business Council

The India-Africa Business Council (IABC), announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during the India-Africa Forum Summit in May 2011 with an aim to provide an institutional platform to strengthen economic ties between business communities of Indian and the African continent, will hold its inaugural meeting on March 17, 2012 in New Delhi. 
The Prime Minister has appointed Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman & group CEO, Bharti Enterprises, to be the co-chair from the Indian side. The Council will be formally launched by Anand Sharma, minister of commerce & industry, Government of India, and Dr Maxwell Mkwezalamba, commissioner for economic affairs, African Union Commission. 
Top business leaders from India and Africa will be a part of this meeting. There will also be representation from the African Union Commission, Pan-African Chambers of Commerce & Industry, Africa's regional economic groupings and the African Development Bank. Bilateral trade between India and Africa has grown from $967 million in 1991 to over $39 billion in 2009/10. Amongst other things, the Council will facilitate a consultative process to address issues standing in the way of economic and commercial relations.