India announced a concessional credit facility of $500 million for economic, infrastructure and social sector projects in the eight, mostly French-speaking, West African countries linked to it through the TEAM-9 initiative. "We have decided to have a long-term and sustained relationship with the eight countries,' external affairs minister Yashwant Sinha said after holding a meeting with his counterparts from Senegal, Burkina Faso, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Equitorial Guinea, Ghana, Guinea Bissau and Mali.