Indian High Commissioner to South Africa Ruchira Kamboj on Tuesday announced a business summit to be held by the two countries at the end of April to boost economic cooperation between the two countries.
The first-of-its-kind two-day business summit, organised by the Indian High Commission in collaboration with various South African government agencies, aims to maximize the potential of economic and commercial partnership between the two countries, leveraging sectors including automotive, healthcare, mining, agro & food processing and future skilled industries.
Speaking at the launch in Johannesburg, Kambozi said South Africa's fourth largest trading partner had been planning the summit for a long time.
Kambozi said India has become more confident in South Africa's potential as an investment destination since the change of government when Cyril Ramaphosa replaced Jacob Zuma as president earlier this year.
“I am very convinced of the potential to double the trade volume between our two countries. There are many areas in which we can partner and cooperate. Ultimately, we will share in the prosperity that comes from the growth of our respective countries,” Kamboj said.
“Our country has been growing very fast, especially in the last few years, about 7 to 8 percent. We have a population of 1.3 billion people and a $2 trillion economy. We are perfect at trade. We have been doing business since time immemorial.”
Madileke Ramsha, director of investment at India's Ministry of Trade and Industry, said the conference would look at resolving market entry barriers for companies and also learn a thing or two from Indian small and medium-sized enterprises as India is ahead in that field.
“We are already planning to sign MoUs with several Indian companies during the summit and we hope that South African companies will use this opportunity to explore new markets and expand their operations,” Ramesh said.
The India-South Africa Business Summit will be held in Johannesburg on April 29-30.
