Indian envoy Abhay Kumar talks about cooperation with Madagascar in mining sector

Indian Ambassador to Madagascar Abhay Kumar spoke with Madagascar’s Minister of Mines Rakotomalala Herindrainy Olivier and discussed the prospect of a partnership in the mining sector.

The meeting was held on Friday. Taking to Twitter, the Indian Embassy in Madagascar wrote, “Ambassador Abhay Kumar met HE Rakotomalala Herindrainy Olivier, the Honorable Minister of Mines and Strategic Resources of Madagascar today. They discussed opportunities for cooperation in the mining sector between India and Madagascar”.

Notably, Madagascar has rich mineral reserves including copper, iron and manganese ores, nickel, graphite, rock salt, nitre, pyrites, gold, rare earths, antimony , ilmenite, tin, asphalt, coal and oil. Madagascar is also rich in precious and semi-precious stones: ruby, sapphire, emerald, aquamarine, beryl, tourmaline, topaz, garnet, cordierite, rose quartz, amethyst and citrine. The decorative stones found are marble, silicified wood and jasper.

Two Indian companies active in Madagascar’s mining sector are Tirupati Graphites and APC Drilling. The Japanese group Sumitomo and the South Korean Komir have invested around 8 billion dollars in the Ambatovy mine, which produces around 60,000 tonnes of nickel and 5,600 tonnes of cobalt each year. It is one of the largest nickel mining entities in the world.

India imports several thousand tons of nickel each year, which is a key ingredient in electric vehicle batteries. Madagascar can be a source of nickel and cobalt imports for India as well as coal and gold.

Kumar also met with Madagascar’s Transport and Meteorology Minister Rolland Ranjatoelina on Thursday and discussed the possibility of launching a direct flight between Mumbai and Antananarivo.

“Ambassador Abhay Kumar today met with Mr. Rolland Ranjatoelina, the Honorable Minister of Transport and #Meteorology of Madagascar. They discussed the possibility of starting a direct flight between #Mumbai and #Antananarivo,” said Ambassador Abhay Kumar in a tweet on Thursday.

Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot and has plants and animals found nowhere else in the world.

Madagascar remains unexplored by Indian tourists, an island nation just six hours away in the Indian Ocean from Mauritius.

The visa is available to Indian tourists upon arrival in Madagascar and there are many places to visit across the country, from Baobab Alley and dancing lemurs to singing whales and pristine beaches.

Madagascar is a traveler’s dream. It is well known for its dark night sky for astro-tourism. All the main constellations visible from the southern hemisphere are visible in Madagascar.

A direct flight between India and Madagascar can help Malagasy people enjoy world-class health, education and financial services in India and can promote tourism between the two countries.

India is Madagascar’s fourth largest trading partner.

A direct flight between the two countries can promote trade and commerce and people-to-people relations between the two countries. Madagascar has a large Indian diaspora with family roots in Gujarat.

(Only the title and image of this report may have been edited by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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