India, South Africa to Boost Trade, Defence in 3-year Programme

India and South Africa on Friday agreed on a three-year programme to boost their two-decade-old strategic partnership in key areas such as trade, defence, maritime security and information technology.

The “strategic programme of cooperation” was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa after delegation-level talks at Hyderabad House. Ramaphosa, who will be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations, said his country is looking at a “result-oriented” partnership with India.

The strategic partnership was established in March 1997 and the two countries are key players in the Brics and IBSA groupings. Bilateral trade was worth more than $10 billion in 2017-18.

The two sides signalled their desire to play a greater role in the Indian Ocean, and a joint statement said Modi and Ramaphosa recognised the importance of “increased bilateral naval cooperation and closer synergy” to ensure unhindered passage for trade “by keeping the sea lanes secure against illegal actors”.

They also expressed satisfaction at the steady cooperation in defence, covering production, joint collaboration, research and development, training and joint exercises. The two sides announced the South African National Defence Force will join the first multinational India-Africa field training exercise at Pune in March.

“If we look at the map of the world, it is clear both India and South Africa are located at very important places in the Indian Ocean,” Modi said after his talks with Ramaphosa. “The broad global outlook of both countries is quite similar to each other. Our mutual cooperation and coordination on many forums like Brics, G-20, Indian Ocean Rim Association (and) IBSA is very strong,” he added.

Both sides agreed to explore solutions to boost trade and investment and Ramaphosa agreed to simplify and reform South Africa’s business visa regime. They also expressed concern at the slow pace of UN reforms and agreed to work together to secure representation in an expanded Security Council.

Source: HT

Image Courtesy: PTI