‘India’s bilateral trade with South Africa has seen hundred-fold growth in almost two decades. There are immense business opportunities between India and South Africa’ said Hon Rob Davis, Minister of Trade and Industry, Republic of South Africa at a Conference on ‘India – South Africa: Sharing Business Opportunities’ organized by Confederation of India Industry and Business Unity South Africa at Mumbai. This Business forum was attended by more than 200 delegates from South Arica accompanying the President of the Republic of South Africa HE Mr Jacob Zuma, on his first Presidential visit to India.
Mr Praveen Toshniwal, Deputy Chairman, CII Western Region & Chairman, Nivo Controls Pvt Ltd said that ‘this long-standing relationship between India and South Africa has translated into a strategic partnership, underpinned by the mutuality of interests and perceptions in both the countries’.
He also mentioned that ‘over the years, India and South Africa have progressed rapidly in all spheres of bilateral relations including economy, culture, science and technology and defence’. In the less than two decades, the bilateral trade volumes grew at an appreciable rate. ‘Yet, there is immense untapped potential for trade growth and investment between India and South Africa’, he said.
Supplementing his views, Mr Syamal Gupta, Chairman Emeritus, CII Africa Committee & Advisor, Tata International Ltd reiterated the need to have greater institutional linkages between these countries to facilitate knowledge sharing and promoting research & development. ‘Business will play a key role in this eco-system, by partnering all segments of the knowledge domain such as research and scientific institutions, centres of excellence, universities and others. At the bilateral level, our efforts should be to invest in technology in a way that we can jointly leverage the emerging opportunities in the global markets’, he added.
Mr Michael Spicer, Vice President, Business Unity South Africa, said that ‘this is one of the biggest business delegations from South Africa. This underscores the increased intensity of business relations between both the countries. In 2009, the bilateral trade between India and South Africa was valued at more than US$ 6 bn. There is a need to reduce both tariff and non tariff trade barriers to expand trade.’
The Conference deliberated upon the opportunities and challenges for India and South Africa with sector specific discussions on ICT, Infrastructure, Pharmaceutical, Energy & Mining and Financial services. The key points of the discussions were then submitted to the Minister of Trade and Industry, Republic of South Africa.