India, Chad hold first high-level bilateral interaction

India and Chad Tuesday had their first bilateral interaction when the central African nation's Minister for Foreign Affairs and African Integration Moussa Faki Mahamat met External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid here.

"This is the first bilateral interaction at this level between India and Chad," said external affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin here.

He said Chad is likely to be the next chair of Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS), a regional group of 16 countries in Africa.

India is purchasing limited quantity of crude from Chad.

"We have a growing development partnership with them. India has offered more than $100 million Line of Credit to Chad for various projects and also 25 ITEC (Indian Technical & Economic Cooperation Programme) scholarships, " he said.

India has also offered to set up a civil aviation academy in Chad, which has emerged as an important economic and political player in Africa.

Chad is also part of e-network in Africa set up by India, connecting African nations, he informed.