Record delegation of more than 120 South African businesses heads to India as both nations eye deeper investment ties…reports Africa Daily News Desk
Trade and investment ties between India and South Africa are expected to receive a major boost during the upcoming BRICS summit, with more than 120 South African businesses set to accompany President Cyril Ramaphosa, according to South Africa’s High Commissioner to India, Prof Anil Sooklal.
In an interview with IANS, Sooklal said the growing interest among South African companies in the Indian market reflected the enormous potential for expanding bilateral trade, currently valued at around $12.5 billion annually.
“We are seeing increasing interest from South African businesses in entering the Indian market,” Sooklal said.
“We have a very large trade delegation, perhaps the largest ever from South Africa to India, with more than 120 South African businesses accompanying President Ramaphosa for the BRICS Summit.”
The companies will participate in the BRICS Business Forum, while three side events focused specifically on India-South Africa trade are also planned.
Sooklal said the scale of the delegation was a clear indication of growing business confidence and could help accelerate commercial ties between the two countries.
South Africa is India’s largest trading partner in Africa, while India ranks fourth among South Africa’s trading partners globally. However, the High Commissioner said there remained significant room for growth.
He attributed the expanding relationship partly to India’s increasing focus on Africa and South Africa’s efforts to strengthen commercial partnerships across the Global South.
“With the unilateral trade measures that have been imposed on us, there is a growing need to look more closely at intensifying trade relations among countries of the Global South,” he said.
Sooklal also highlighted growing interest among Indian companies seeking to use South Africa as a gateway to the wider African market.
Major Indian multinational companies already operate in South Africa, he said, benefiting from the country’s infrastructure, financial services and banking sector while expanding into the wider Southern African region.
A proposed Preferential Trade Agreement between India and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) could provide another significant push to bilateral trade and investment, he added.
The agreement, currently under negotiation, would be India’s first such trade arrangement with a regional bloc on the African continent.
“Once this PTA is in place, I believe it will provide a further boost to trade and investment between our two countries,” Sooklal said.
Beyond traditional commerce, the South African envoy also called for deeper cooperation in technology, particularly artificial intelligence.
He said AI should become a more prominent part of the BRICS agenda, noting India’s growing expertise in data centres and global capability centres.
“India has been a leader in this area,” Sooklal said. “We would like to see greater cooperation in this field and would like AI cooperation to become more deeply embedded in the BRICS agenda.”
With a record-sized business delegation and renewed focus on trade, investment and technology, the BRICS gathering could mark a significant new phase in the economic partnership between India and South Africa.
