India's Growing Investment in East Africa

India's largest state-owned natural gas processing and distribution company, GAIL, announced Oct. 10 that it was working toward establishing Africa as a major supplier of natural gas. Although India's state-level spending has diminished in recent years in conjunction with slowing Indian economic growth, its investment in Africa has continued to grow. Certain West African countries, such as Nigeria and Ghana, naturally attract Indian investment and exports for the size of their economies and their recent increases in economic growth, but India’s economic outreach to Africa focuses more on the countries along the Indian Ocean coast — East Africa and southern Africa account for nearly 70 percent of India's export market in Africa. Historical and cultural ties to East Africa, coupled with the region's potential for high economic growth, will continue to direct state and private Indian investment into the region.