Embassy of India

Antananarivo, Madagascar

Madagascar is not only the world’s fourth largest island but also the largest and most populous island in the South Western Indian Ocean. 

2. India’s links with Madagascar date back to 18th century. The 19th and 20th centuries witnessed steady increase in the number of Indian origin people arriving in Madagascar. About 17,500 persons of Indian origin, mostly from Gujarat, currently live in Madagascar. India opened a Consulate General in Antananarivo in 1954 which was upgraded to an Embassy in 1960 when Madagascar gained its independence. The then President of Madagascar Mr. Didier Ratsiraka visited India in 1980 and 1983.

3. The then President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind paid a historic visit to Madagascar on 14-15 March 2018, which was the first VVIP visit from India to Madagascar. During the visit, President met the then President of Madagascar H.E. Mr. Hery Rajaonarimampianina, addressed the students at the University of Antananarivo and inaugurated a CGARD center (Center for Geo Applications in the Area of Rural Development) which was set up with the assistance of the Government of India. Two MoUs for cooperation in Defence and Air Services were signed during the visits.

4. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi met the President of Madagascar H.E. Mr. Andry Rajoelina, on the sidelines of the World Governments Summit in Dubai (UAE) on 14 February 2024. This was the first meeting between the two leaders, who reviewed  the state and prospects of India-Madagascar partnership.

5. External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar met the Foreign Minister of Madagascar H.E. Mrs. Rasata Rafaravavitafika on 9 February 2024, on the sidelines of the 7th Indian Ocean Conference in Perth (Australia). President of Independent National Electoral Commission of Madagascar H.E. Mr. Dama Andrianarisedo Arsene led a 5 member delegation on a study tour to New Delhi (India) From 29-31 January 2024, at the invitation of the Election Commission of India. Secretary (Economic Relations), MEA Shri Dammu Ravi represented the Government of India at the investiture ceremony of President of Madagascar H.E. Mr. Andry Rajoelina on 16 December 2023 in Antananarivo.

6. Minister of Agriculture of Madagascar H.E. Mr. Sergio Francois Hajarison took part in “World Food India-2024” held from 19-22 September 2024 in New Delhi and had a bilateral meeting with the Hon’ble Minister of Food Processing Industries Shri Chirag Paswan. Minister of Economy and Finance of Madagascar H.E. Mrs. Rindra Hasimbelo Rabarinirinarison and Secretary General of Ministry of Youth and Sports of Madagascar Mr. Lovatiako Ralaivo took part in respective Ministerial/Vice Ministerial sessions of the 3rd Voice of the Global South Summit held in the virtual format under India's chairship on 17 August 2024. Interim President of Madagascar H.E. Mr. Richard Ravalomanana took part in the inaugural session of the 2nd Voice of Global South Summit held in virtual format under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 17 November 2023. The Minister of Economy and Finances of Madagascar Mrs. Rindra Hasimbelo  Rabarinirinarison attended the Finance Ministers’ Session of the 2nd Voice of Global South Summit, held under the Chairmanship of Secretary (Economic Affairs), Ministry of Finance on 17 November 2023. The then Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development of Madagascar H.E. Ms. Vina Marie-Orlea, took part in the 'Environment Ministers' Session" of the Voice of Global South Summit held in the virtual format on 12 January 2023.

7.  The then Foreign Minister of Madagascar Mr. Richard Randriamandrato took part in the 7th edition of Raisina Dialogue held in New Delhi from 25-27 April 2022. During the visit, he called on Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and also met the External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar.

8. President of the Republic of Madagascar H.E. Mr. Andry Rajoelina  sent a video message to the inaugural session of the 4th International Conference of CDRI (Coalition for Disaster Resilience Infrastructure) on 4 May 2022. He also sent a video message for the launch of “Mission LiFE” by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and  UN Secretary General Mr. Antonio Guterres, on 20 October 2022.  

9. The then Minister of National Defence of Madagascar, Mr. Rakotonirina Léon Jean Richard led a 3-member delegation to the DefExpo 2022 and India-Africa Defence Ministers’ Conclave held in Gandhinagar (Gujarat) from 18-22 October 2022. During the visit, he had a bilateral meeting with Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh and discussed ways to further enhance defence cooperation between the two countries.

10. The then Mayor of Antananarivo Mr. Naina Andriantsitohaina visited India under ICCR’s Distinguished Visitors’ Program from 7-15 November 2021. During the visit, he met Hon’ble Mayor of Mumbai City, Smt Kishori Pednekar.

11. An India-Madagascar Agreement on Cooperation and Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters was signed by the Chairman of Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs Shri Sanjay Kumar Agarwal and Director General of Malagasy Customs Dr. Lainkana Zafivanona Ernest, on the sidelines of the Council of the World Customs Organization (WCO) in Brussels (Belgium) on 27 June 2024. The agreement came into effect on 2 November 2024, after the completion of internal legal procedures on both sides.

12. An agreement was signed between India and Madagascar on 13 September 2022 on the exemption of visa for the holders of diplomatic and service/official passports between India and Madagascar, which entered into force on 1 June 2023. An MOU was signed between the Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service, Ministry of External Affairs, Republic of India and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Madagascar on 12 September 2022 for training of diplomats between India and Madagascar.

Trade-Economic Cooperation

13. As a Least Developed Country, Madagascar benefits from India’s Duty-Free Preferential Tariff Scheme. Major products imported by India from Madagascar are cloves, black-eyed peas, vanilla, graphite, cocoa beans, and essential oils. Major products exported by India to Madagascar are rice, pharmaceuticals, cotton fabrics, wheat, ceramic tiles, diesel fuel, cane sugar etc. The bilateral trade figures for the last five years are as follows:

In US$ million  (Source: DGFT)

14. A Special Event on Trade-Economic Cooperation between Indian States and Diana Region was held on 19 December 2024 in Antsiranana. An event to promote Tourism and Trade cooperation with Diana region was organized in Nosy Be on 18 September 2024. Similar events were also organized in Mahajanga (Boeny Region) and Antsirabe (Vakinankaratra Region) in May 2024 and July 2024 respectively. A special event to promote cooperation between Indian States and Madagascar was organized in Antananarivo on 29 February 2024 by the Embassy of India and Foreign Ministry of Madagascar. Embassy had also organized a State promotion event in Antsiranana (Diana Region) in December 2023. A Tourism Promotion Event was organized by the Embassy in Antananarivo in February 2022. A webinar and virtual Business-to-Business meetings on opportunities in health care and pharmaceuticals was organized by the Embassy in collaboration with Pharmaceuticals Exports Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) in December 2021.

15. Indian investments: The major Indian investments by Indian companies were in the mining, oil and gas sectors, telecom sector and health sectors. Airtel is a major player in mobile telephone sector while Dr. Aggarwal's Eye Hospital and Mahindra function in the health and auto-mobile sectors respectively. A UK based company “Tirupati Carbons & Chemicals Ltd.” owned by an Indian national has set up a Graphite processing facility in Brickaville (Atsinanana Region). 

Cooperation in Multilateral Fora

16. Madagascar has been supporting India in the elections to United Nations (UN) and other multinational fora. Madagascar supported India’s UN Security Council non-permanent seat for the period 2021-2022 and conveyed its support for India’s candidature for the period 2028-2029. Madagascar is also a member of the IORA (Indian Ocean Rim Association), International Solar Alliance, Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure while India is an Observer in the Indian Ocean Commission. India took part as observer in the extraordinary summit of Indian Ocean Commission held in virtual format in December 2022 under the chairship of Madagascar.

Developmental Partnership

17. A Memorandum of Understanding for implementation of High Impact Community Development Projects with India’s grant assistance in the areas of agriculture, energy, transport, health, education etc, was signed by the Ambassador and the then Foreign Minister of Madagascar in Antananarivo on 11 September 2023.

18. Two senior officials from Ministry of Public Works, Government of Madagascar attended ITEC Executive course "Global Trends in Building Infrastructure for Development" at IIM Indore from 28 April – 11 May 2024.

19. Two journalists from Madagascar visited India (New Delhi and Hyderabad) from 9-16 December 2023 on a familiarization trip organised by Ministry of External Affairs of India for select African countries. 

20. As announced by the Hon’ble Rashtrapatiji during his visit to Madagascar in March 2018, 100000 NCERT books in the subjects of English, Maths and Science were donated to Malagasy schools in January 2020. India donated computers and other equipment to the University of Tulear in April 2018. 50 computers were donated to the largest high school in Madagascar—Lycee Moderne, Ampefiloha in April 2022. The MoU for Participation in the e-VBAB Network Project was signed between India and Madagascar on 12 July 2022. 15000 bicycles to school children and teachers of Madagascar were donated by India in August 2022 in a ceremony attended by the Prime Minister of Madagascar. As part of South-South Cooperation, India's focus has been on capacity building, including training in highly skilled/technical fields which has been widely appreciated by the local population. As on date, total slots availed by Madagascar are:

i. ICCR:  174

ii. ITEC-Civilian:  978

iii. ITEC-Defence:  163

iv. IAFS III:  89

v. Ilearn portal: 13

21. Government of India had extended a concessional Line of Credit of US$ 25 million to Madagascar for raising the productivity of rice and setting up of fertilizer plants in 2008, under which 425 tractors and equipment & machinery were supplied. An agreement for establishment of a Centre for Geo-informatics Applications in Rural Development (CGARD) was signed between India and Madagascar in 2016.  CGARD was jointly inaugurated by Hon’ble Rashtrapatiji and the Malagasy President in March 2018 and has since been working under the the Ministry of Agriculture of Madagascar.10 diplomats from Madagascar participated in the 1st Special Course for diplomats of the Indian Ocean Region at Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service, New Delhi (SSIFS) from 20 September-1 October 2021. One diplomat from Madagascar attended the 69th Professional Course for Foreign Diplomats (PCFD) from 03-28 October 2022 at SSIFS. 20 officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Madagascar underwent a special English language training at EFLU, Hyderabad under ITEC programme in 2023. 14 diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Madagascar took part in the 1st  Special Course for Malagasy diplomats organized by SSIFS from 12-21 June 2024.

22.  A Solar Power System installed at the building of National Assembly of Madagascar under a grant of the Government of India was inaugurated by the Ambassador and the President of National Assembly H.E. Mr. Justin Tokely in Antananarivo on 4 September 2024.

23. 3 no.s of 9-ton trucks donated by the Government of India were handed over by the Ambassador to the President of Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) of Madagascar H.E. Mr. Dama Arsene Andrianarisedo, in a ceremony held in Antananarivo on 10 December 2024.

24.    The first “Jaipur Foot Camp” under the “India for Humanity” program of the Ministry of External Affairs of India was organized in Antananarivo during November-December 2024. It was inaugurated by the First Lady of Madagascar H.E. Mrs. Mialy Rajoelina on 12 November 2024 and was visited by several dignitaries, including the Foreign Minister of Madagascar H.E. Mrs. Rasata Rafaravavitafika. About 500 disabled people in Madagascar received free-of-cost fitment of artificial limbs during the Camp.

Humanitarian Assistance

Culture

25. A Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation and collaboration in broadcasting was signed in May 2022 between the Office of Malagasy Radio and Televeision (ORTM) and Prasar Bharati, the Indian public radio and television company. In 2022, the Malagasy translation of Bhagavad Gita was provided to our representative in UNESCO. A street in the city centre is named after Mahatma Gandhi while a road connecting the Town Hall with the Embassy is named after Indira Gandhi. Indian TV channels are included in the cable TV package by the local cable operators.  An “India Corner” was launched on 6 December 2024 at the National Library of Madagascar in Antananarivo. ICCR-sponsored Contemporary Indian Dance groups visited Madagascar in August 2018 and October 2019 and held performances in Antananarivo. A Teacher of Indian Culture has been deployed under ICCR for promotion of Yoga in Madagascar since June 2022. A locally hired Hindi Teacher offers free-of-cost Hindi language classes at the Embassy. The Embassy organized two musical concerts with renowned Indian violinist Dr. L. Subramaniam and singer Kavita Krishnamurti on 24 and 25 June 2022 in Madagascar. 150 solar lamps were donated by the Government of India for high school students of Lycee Jean Joseph RABEARIVELO in Antananarivo in February 2020. 20 artists from Madagascar participated in the Surajkund International Crafts Mela in Haryana from 3-18 February 2023. 15 artists from Madagascar took part in the Surajkund International Crafts Mela in Haryana from 2-18 February 2024. Yoga session in Ampefy, near the Itasy lake was held on 25 February 2024 which was attended by Minister of Tourism and Handicrafts Mr. Joel Randriamandranto, Governor of Itasy Region. The International Day of Yoga was celebrated in Antananarivo on 21 June 2024 and President of the Senate of Madagascar H.E. Mr. Richard Ravalomanana and Acting Minister of Youth and Sport H.E. Mr. Valery Ramonjavelo took part in the celebrations of the International Day of Yoga. Foreign Minister H.E. Mrs. Rasata Rafaravavitafika took part in a special Yoga session organized by the Embassy in Antsiranana (Diana region) on 21 December 2024. Minister of Youth and Sports of Madagascar H.E. Mr. Abdulah Marson Mustapha took part in a special Yoga session organized by the Embassy in Antananarivo on 18 January 2025.

26. The first ever Festival of India in Madagascar (sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sangeet Natak Academy and ITDC) was organized in Antananarivo in 2015. 

27. The Embassy of India Antananarivo organized a special unveiling ceremony of the plaque of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” in the Embassy premises on 10 March 2022. A Green Triangle named after Mahatma Gandhi was inaugurated by the Ambassador and the then Mayor of Antananarivo Mr. Naina Andriantsitohaina on 16 March 2022. A private center to showcase the history of the Indian Diaspora in Madagascar ‘Indian Dhow’ was inaugurated on 29 July 2022 by the then Foreign Minister of Madagascar H.E. Mr. Richard Randriamandrato. A State Promotion Event for Manipur was organized in Antananarivo on 19 August 2022 which witnessed vibrant dance performances by “Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy”. President of the Senate of Madagascar H.E. Mr. Richard Ravalomanana, Minister of Mines Mr. Olivier Rakotomalala graced the celebrations of Holi in Antananarivo on 23 March 2024. Ayurveda Day and Diwali were celebrated at the Embassy of India in Antananarivo on 30 October 2024. Minister of Technical Education and Vocational Training H.E. Mrs. Marie Marcelline Rasoloarisoa, Minister of Youth and Sports H.E. Mr. Abdulah Marson Mustapha took part in the celebrations of World Hindi Day at the Embassy on 10 January 2025/

28.  As part of the celebrations of International Year of Millets, the Embassy organized the live streaming “Global Millet’s Conference” on 18 March 2023 for the members of Indian Community in Madagascar. Embassy also organized a special event to celebrate the International Year of Millet on 20 July 2023, which was attended by the Ministers of Agriculture and Public Health of Madagascar and the Deputy Representative of FAO in Madagascar. Embassy, in association with the University of Antananarivo organized an event to promote millets on 26 July 2023. 

29. There are about 17,500 persons of Indian origin in Madagascar including approximately 2500 NRIs holding Indian passports. Most of them are in trading while some are into manufacturing and other professions. The role played by the Indian Diaspora in the economic development of Madagascar is appreciated at all levels. A grand Hindu Temple was inaugurated in Antananarivo in July 2022.

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ANNEXURE 1

VISITS FROM INDIA

VISITS FROM MADAGASCAR

February 2025

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