New Delhi, Oct 23 (IANS): India and the African countries need to step up their cooperation in the fields of infrastructure, agriculture and healthcare to promote trade and business linkages between the two regions, a leading Indo-African business chamber said on Friday.

The recommendations on sectors for cooperation were revealed after the third meeting of the India Africa Business Council (IABC) which was held here.

The IABC meet was led by Rajan Bharti Mittal, acting co-chair, IABC, India, and Ali Haddad, co-chair, IABC, Africa.

Mittal is the vice-chairman and managing director of Bharti Enterprises. Haddad is the chief executive of Algerian construction company ETRHB Haddad.

The meeting was held in the backdrop of Fourth India-Africa Trade Ministers' Meeting which was also held here.

The IABC recommended that both the regions should step up their cooperation in the areas such as food security.

"The council stressed the need to cooperate in areas including capacity building and working towards promoting food security," a joint statement released after the IABC meet said.

"The council also discussed core sectors namely infrastructure, agriculture and healthcare."

In the infrastructure space, the IABC noted that Africa required investments in projects that include training and capacity building.

It pointed out that the Indian PPP (public private partnership) experience can be emulated in the sector.

On cooperation in agriculture, the Indo-African business chamber recommended that the two regions should promote joint ventures (JVs) to harness the potential of the sector in Africa.

"The council noted the huge opportunity in Africa that India and Africa can jointly cultivate," the joint statement said.

Furthermore, the business chamber highlighted new focus areas for enhancing economic cooperation between India and Africa, namely connectivity, facilitating visas and promoting tourism.

The third IABC meeting was attended by 37 chief executives from Africa and 31 from India.

The IABC is a precursor meet before the third edition of the India Africa Forum Summit (IAFS).

The mega diplomatic event is scheduled to be held in New Delhi from October 26-29. The event has attracted the world's attention, as India will host the leaders of 54 African countries for the summit.