The Haryana–Africa Strategic Partnership offers a compelling example of how subnational diplomacy can deepen South–South Cooperation in a multipolar world. Convened at the Surajkund International Crafts Mela in Faridabad, the meeting brought together ambassadors and senior officials from 21 African countries including Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Madagascar and Nigeria. Several ministers and officials from the Government of Haryana and India’s Ministry of External Affairs also attended the event. And at the end, the conclave demonstrated how moving beyond ceremonial gathering, a state-level engagement can also complement national foreign policy and create practical, development-oriented partnerships.
At the core of this sub-national diplomacy, there lies South–South Cooperation based on the principles of mutual benefit, capacity-building and shared developmental experience. Haryana’s outreach aligns with this logic. As one of India’s fastest-growing states in agriculture, manufacturing, MSMEs, food processing and startups, Haryana has accumulated expertise that resonates strongly with African economies facing similar structural challenges such as food security, youth employment, industrial diversification and technological upgrading. By institutionalising its external engagement through a dedicated Department of Foreign Cooperation, Haryana has signalled that subnational actors can also meaningfully contribute to global development partnerships.
The partnership discussions focused on agriculture, skill development, entrepreneurship, industrial investment, IT, tourism and cultural cooperation. Agriculture remains a particularly fertile area of collaboration. Haryana’s experience in irrigation management, crop diversification, mechanisation, dairy development and post-harvest management offers practical lessons for enhancing productivity and food security in African states such as Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia and Rwanda. The possibility of joint farming ventures, technical training programmes and seed technology exchange reflects a shift from aid-based models toward co-development and knowledge sharing.
By institutionalising its external engagement through a dedicated Department of Foreign Cooperation, Haryana has signalled that subnational actors can also meaningfully contribute to global development partnerships.
Industrial cooperation forms a second pillar of this emerging partnership. Haryana’s integration into the National Capital Region has endowed it with logistical strength, infrastructure connectivity and a diversified industrial base, especially in automobile components, manufacturing clusters and MSMEs. African countries seeking industrialisation through value addition and local manufacturing can benefit from partnerships that encourage investment, technology transfer and skill development rather than extractive trade. Agreements signed with institutions such as the Tanzania Investment Centre illustrate how such cooperation can be structured through investment facilitation and institutional linkages.
Digital transformation further enhances the relevance of this partnership. Haryana’s experience with digital governance, public service delivery and startup ecosystems offers replicable models for African states pursuing digital inclusion. Collaboration in IT, e-governance and digital literacy can strengthen education and health service delivery while expanding financial inclusion. In this sense, the partnership embodies a modern interpretation of South–South Cooperation where technological adaptation and policy innovation are shared among developing societies facing comparable governance constraints.
Environmental sustainability provides another promising dimension. The Aravalli Green Wall Project is India’s afforestation initiative which is inspired by Africa’s Great Green Wall. This example demonstrates the potential for reciprocal learning. By seeking to restore degraded forest land across multiple Indian states, the project echoes African efforts to combat desertification and land degradation. Cross-learning between Haryana and African partners on water conservation, solar energy and climate resilience underscores that South–South Cooperation is not unidirectional but dialogic, built on shared ecological vulnerabilities and innovative local solutions.
Equally significant is the cultural and people-to-people dimension of the partnership. Hosting the meeting alongside the Surajkund International Crafts Mela symbolically embedded economic cooperation within a broader civilisational exchange. Folk performances and cultural programmes fostered social familiarity, reinforcing the idea that economic ties are strengthened by cultural empathy. Such engagements move beyond transactional diplomacy and nurture long-term societal linkages.
The Haryana–Africa initiative also reflects an important structural shift in India’s external engagement. Traditionally, foreign policy has been the prerogative of national governments. However, globalisation and economic decentralisation have created space for subnational diplomacy. Haryana’s proactive outreach aligns with India’s broader commitment to Africa but operates at a more targeted, sector-specific level. This layered approach where national vision combined with state-level implementation, can enhance efficiency and responsiveness.
Skill development initiatives, entrepreneurship training and MSME collaboration can generate employment while strengthening local capacities.
Importantly, the partnership avoids the hierarchical undertones sometimes associated with North–South development frameworks. Instead, it emphasises shared developmental trajectories: agrarian transformation, demographic dividends, urbanisation pressures and industrial upgrading. Both Haryana and many African economies confront the challenge of translating youthful populations into productive workforces. Skill development initiatives, entrepreneurship training and MSME collaboration can generate employment while strengthening local capacities.
For South–South Cooperation to succeed, however, it needs to move beyond the rhetoric. Once the pomp and ceremonies are over, the institutional continuity and measurable outcomes need to be ingrained in the partnership. Therefore, the natural course of this Haryana–Africa conclave would be to evolve into sustained engagement such as regular business delegations, sectoral working groups and academic exchanges. Finally, some transparent evaluation of projects and mutual accountability will ensure that the partnership remains developmental rather than symbolic.
Ultimately, the Haryana–Africa Strategic Partnership illustrates how subnational actors can serve as laboratories of international cooperation. By linking agriculture, industry, digital innovation and environmental sustainability within a framework of cultural exchange, Haryana has demonstrated a multidimensional approach to engagement. In doing so, it offers a replicable template for other Indian states and indeed other developing regions who are seeking to operationalise South–South Cooperation beyond rhetoric.
In an era of shifting global alignments, partnerships rooted in shared experience and practical collaboration may prove more resilient than traditional donor–recipient models. Haryana’s engagement with Africa thus stands not merely as a regional outreach initiative but as a microcosm of a broader transformation in global development diplomacy, one in which cooperation flows horizontally, trust is built incrementally, and development is pursued collectively.
This commentary originally appeared in Modern Ghana.
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Dr. Samir Bhattacharya is an Associate Fellow at Observer Research Foundation (ORF), where he works on geopolitics with particular reference to Africa in the changing ...
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