New Delhi: Giving a major impetus to South-South cooperation, India today (Mar 1, 2004) decided to provide concessional credit facilities of $ 500 million for projects identified in the economic and social sectors with eight West African countries under a new initiative termed 'TEAM-9'.

New Delhi also offered access to training resources within the country and facilitate deputation of Indian scientists, technologists and other experts to the African nations.

Ministers and representatives of the Team-9 nations, who held exhaustive parleys in New Delhi, decided to set up Business Council for facilitating identification, entrepreneurship and implementation of specific projects.

"We have decided to have long-term and sustained relationship with the eight African countries," External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha told reporters after the talks.

New Delhi also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Burkina Faso, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Mali and Senegal to evolve a mechanism of cooperation under Techno-Economic Approach for Africa-India Movement (TEAM-9).

Sinha, who was assisted by Minister of State for External Affairs Digvijay Singh and Foreign Secretary Shashank at the meeting, said the TEAM-9 Council of Ministers would meet once a year and the next meeting would be held in Guinea Bissau. A Standing Committee of officials could meet as often as needed.