India-South Africa trade to cross $18 bn in 3 years

The India-South Africa bilateral trade, which has been steadily growing, is expected to surpass the $18-billion-mark in the next three years, an official said Tuesday.

"India-South Africa mutual trade has been growing at a rate faster than expected. We had targeted the trade to breach the ($)15 billion mark by 2015 and by this year we have already reached $14.7 billion" said S.C. Pradhan, senior economic advisor at the South African High Commission in New Delhi.

"We expect the trade to surpass 18 billion (USD) mark by the next three years," Pradhan said on the sidelines of a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) event here adding that the country was expecting Indian investment in sectors like mining and agro-products, among others.

Meanwhile a 17-member CII eastern region delegation has embarked on an 11-day mission to the African continent June 24 to explore investment opportunities in countries like South Africa, Zambia and Kenya, as well as attract investments from these countries.

The sectors in focus include manufacturing, mining, healthcare, ICT, tourism.