Samir Bhattacharya is Senior Research Associate at Vivekananda International Foundation, where he works on geopolitics with particular reference to Africa in changing global order. He has a Master's in Economics from the University of Auvergne, France, and he is currently pursuing his doctoral study at Jawaharlal Nehru University. His doctoral study focuses on conflicts in Africa, particularly in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa. Previously, he has worked with organizations such as the French Embassy in New Delhi, Saciwaters (Research Organisation) and CUTS International (NGO).

Contributions 
The “One District One Product” Experiment The state government of Uttar Pradesh is working diligently to grow the state's economy to $1 trillion and boost its share of India's GDP from the current 8% to 15–16%. The "One District One Product (ODOP)" programme was one crucial programme that ...

The Future of Ethiopia's Peace Deal There are nations with states and nations without a state. And in Sub-Saharan Africa, there is a third category: states without nations. One such case in point is Ethiopia. Ethiopia is a Federal Democratic Republic with two chartered cities and nine ...

The Promise and Peril of Africa in 2023 As the year 2022 ended, here is a brief recap of what happened in Africa over the past year. Most African countries were still battling to recover from the pandemic when the year began. However, a series of disruptions, such as supply shortages and s...

India’s Healthcare Diplomacy with Africa reflects Southern Solidarity The tiny African nation Gambia has recently been in the news due to the unfortunate deaths of 70 children from July to September, reportedly connected to four paediatric cough syrups made in India....

Book Published / Book Reviews 
"The Harambee Factor: India - Africa Economic and Development Partnership” by Ambassador Gurjit Singh, Macmillan Education India Pvt. Ltd., Pp 500 2022, INR 2,802. ISBN: 978-93-5455-069-0 A wealth of literature illustrates China's relationship with Africa in all of its facets. In comparison, there isn't nearly enough research on India's engagement in Africa in its entirety. In that sense, there is hardly any literature that deals spec...

"India–Africa Relations: Changing Horizons" by Rajiv Bhatia, Routledge India, Pp 244, 15 November 2021, INR 995. ISBN 9781032268989 Former High Commissioner to Kenya, South Africa and Lesotho, Ambassador Rajiv Kumar Bhatia, is a Distinguished Fellow of the Foreign Policy Studies Programme at Gateway House. In his new book titled "India-Africa Relations: Changing Horizons",...

Event Reports 
VIF Hosts the High Commissioner of South Africa and Ambassador of Sudan under its Connect Africa Programme The High Commissioner of South Africa, His Excellency Mr. JS Ndebele, and the Ambassador of Sudan, His Excellency Mr Abdalla Omer Bashir Elhusain, gave presentations on the status of India's relations with their respective nations and their prospects...

Interaction with Puneet Roy Kundal, Joint Secretary, MEA Shri Puneet Roy Kundal, Joint Secretary, MEA, former Ambassador of India in Tunisia and Consul General of India in Cape Town, highlighted Africa's strategic importance for India in his remarks. He mentions that MEA considers the relationship with Afr...

VIF-NIIA webinar on India-Nigeria relations under the “Connect Africa” Programme On 27th October, 2022, Vivekananda International Foundation organized a webinar on India-Nigeria relations with Nigerian Institute of International Studies (NIIA), a premium think tank based in Nigeria. This was the second event under “Connect Afri...

Interaction with Shri Dammu Ravi, Secretary, Economic Relations, Ministry of External Affairs On 28th November 2022, VIF organised its 2nd Africa Expert Group meeting. Shri Dammu Ravi, Secretary Economic Relations, Ministry of External Affairs, was the key speaker at the meeting. During the meeting, Mr Ravi gave a brief overview of the contou...

Vivekananda International Foundation launches "Connect Africa" The Vivekananda International Foundation unveiled its latest "Connect Africa" programme on September 22, 2022. This initiative's primary goal is to invite prominent African and Indian figures, such as academics, diplomats, practitioners, and journali...

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