ABSTRACT
The chapter is divided into four sections. Section I compares and contrasts India and China, and discusses the importance of India and China in the global arena. It also discusses the rationale for India’s and China’s engagement with Africa. Section II discusses the importance of the oil industry in West Africa. It illustrates that despite the fact that West African reserves are Lilliputian relative to reserves in the Persian Gulf states, West Africa has become a significant player in the global oil industry. Section III discusses the prevalent literature on India and China in Africa. It outlines the prevalent discourse on China in Africa followed by India in Africa and highlights the comparative aspects of India and China in Africa in the existing literature. It then looks at India and China respectively in West Africa, in the oil industry in West Africa and compares and contrasts India and China in the oil industry in West Africa. Section IV discusses the gap in the existing literature and provides a rationale for undertaking the research.
