Kolkata, Apr 8 (IANS): India's chartered accountants will provide undertake capacity building and provide training in around 21 nations in Africa, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) announced here Monday.

"We are aiming to provide technical support to around 21 pan-African nations. This will give a thrust to their education sector and strengthen ties with them," ICAI president Subodh Kumar Agrawal said at a media conference here.

"Technical support means that we will undertake capacity building measures and impart training to their personnel. This will be followed by setting up of chartered accountancy institutes in these countries," Agrawal said.

Since they are small countries, we have to initiate capacity building and training to prepare them in setting up the institutes. We have recently trained people in Mozambique," he added.

According to Agrawal, talks are on with the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants to ink a deal with ICAI.

"Besides training, peer review will also be done. We can also give our inputs for establishing accounting and auditing standards in their countries. Their economic standards are different from ours, so the same criteria will not work there," said Agrawal.

Agrawal said that besides Africa, ICAI has also "signed pacts with various accounting bodies in the UK, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand. This way our members can work there and vice versa".

According to Agrawal, the institute (with 21 chapters in foreign countries) is in the process of signing treaties with Vietnam and Bhutan.