Johannesburg: India-South Africa trade has gone past the 10 million US dollar mark, a target set by the leaders of both countries, Consul General Johannesburg Anju Ranjan said on Wednesday. Attending a reception here to celebrate India's 73rd Republic Day, she said that the nations' trade reached 11.6 billion despite the pandemic that hit them hard, PTI reported.
Anju said that they were able to conduct commercial programmes braving Covid-19 induced lockdowns in both nations. Many virtual exhibitions and buyer-seller meets were conducted in various sectors such as ceramics, telecom, agriculture, printing and textiles, sustaining the bilateral trades between the two countries.
The improvement the nations made despite the raging pandemic was optimistic, she said and added that they wish to do more in the coming months in the sectors of spices, IT, telecom, mining, pharma and textiles.
High Commissioner to South Africa Jaideep Sarkar said that he is happy to learn that 150 plus Indian companies have invested more than 10 billion US dollars in South Africa, which employed 20,000 South African citizens. Praising the companies, he said that they bring skills, technology and entrepreneurship as well as create jobs, income and wealth to both nations, he said.
Further, he said they were also proud of the Indian diaspora in South Africa who have been there since 1860 and have a history of struggle, sacrifice and hardship. Their battle of anti-apartheid and efforts to build a free, democratic and multi-racial country were well recognized, he said. Indians and Africans have close ties through centuries of history, and they wish to expand these bonds in the coming years, he said.
Meanwhile, Special Adviser on International Relations and former Consul General in India, Maropene Ramokgopa, said that the Red Fort Declaration of 1997 signed by former South African President Nelson Mandela and Indian Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda cut the path for the flourishing trade relations between the two nations.