ECOWAS, the Sahel and India: Development Diplomacy and its Limitations

At a time when the Trump administration and Russia are resetting their relationship and calculating the costs of involvement in global hotspots, and when China is consolidating its presence in Africa, it is pertinent to examine India’s engagement with West Africa. Given that Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has become a pivotal institution for protecting regional interests, it is essential to examine how India and this multilateral framework can effectively address mutual concerns within a dynamic global order. Considering the limits to “multilateralism” in Africa, this article questions whether India’s engagement in West Africa through the lens of “development diplomacy” will fundamentally transform relations between the two actors. This article adopts an exploratory approach and, through document analysis, contends that China’s early mover’s advantage, the issue of “hedging,” the “capacity gap,” and the lack of robust “people-to-people ties” will constrain India’s ability to deepen its footprint in the Sahel region.