South Africa's High Commissioner to India Ruchira Kamboj on Tuesday launched the launch of a business summit to be held by the two countries at the end of April, aimed at boosting bilateral economic cooperation.
The first-ever two-day business summit, hosted by the High Commission of India in collaboration with various South African government agencies, will highlight the economic and commercial partnership between the two countries by leveraging the automotive, healthcare, mining and agriculture sectors. We aim to maximize the potential of – Food processing, future skill industries, etc.
Speaking at a presentation in Johannesburg, Kamboyi said South Africa's fourth trading partner had been planning the summit for a long time.
Kamboj said India has gained some confidence in South Africa's potential as an investment destination since the change in political leadership when Cyril Ramaphosa replaced Jacob Zuma as president earlier this year.
“I am very confident that we have the potential to double the amount of trade between our countries. There are many areas where our two countries can partner and cooperate. Ultimately, both countries will contribute to the growth of their respective countries. We will share prosperity together,” said Kamboj.
“My country has been growing rapidly, about 7 to 8 percent, especially in the last few years. It's a $2 trillion economy with 1.3 billion people. We've perfected the deal. We have been in business since time immemorial.”
Madireke Ramsha, director of investment at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, said the conference would address barriers to market access for companies and look at learning a thing or two from India's small and medium-sized enterprises in this area.
“We had already begun signing memorandums of understanding with several Indian companies during the summit. We hope that South African companies will take advantage of this opportunity to seek new markets and grow their businesses.” Ramush said.
The India-South Africa Business Summit will be held in Johannesburg on April 29th and 30th.
