Page 2 - India-south Africa

PM Modi speaks to South African President Ramaphosa, reviews bilateral ties

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday as they reviewed progress in their bilateral cooperation, anchored in historical and strong people-to-people ties. Modi also thanked him for the relocation of 12 cheetahs to India earlier this year, according to a statement. They also exchanged views on a number of regional and global issues of mutual interest, including cooperation in BRICS in the context of South Africa's chairmanship this year, it added. "President Ramaphosa briefed PM on the African Leaders' Peace Initiative. Noting that India was supportive of all initiatives aimed at ensuring durable peace and stability in Ukraine, PM reiterated India's consistent call for dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward," it said. In their telephonic conversation, Ramaphosa conveyed his full support to India's initiatives as part of its ongoing G20 presidency and said that he looked forward to his visit to India.

India no longer lumbering around at relatively slow pace: EAM Jaishankar

India is no longer "lumbering around at a relatively slow pace", External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said as he concluded his three-day visit to South Africa for a conclave of the five-nation BRICS grouping. Speaking at a reception hosted by the local diaspora and expatriate community in Cape Town in his honour Saturday evening, he also spoke about the special relationship between India and South Africa, which would celebrate 30 years of new diplomatic ties. The minister was in the city with his counterparts from Brazil, Russia, China for the BRICS bloc meeting hosted by South Africa. "This is no longer the India that was lumbering around at a relatively slow pace. When it comes to digital, I can assert with a great deal of confidence, that I see practices (and) efficiencies in India which I don't see even if I go to Europe and North America," Jaishankar said. "This scale of change which is taking place in India, when we speak about the pace of transformation of these nine years

India-South Africa ties emotional, our freedom struggles intertwined: EAM

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar invoked the three-decade-old ties between India and South Africa stating that there is a very "deeply emotional" connection between the two countries

Deaths of Cheetahs in Kuno were expected: South Africa forest dept

Reintroducing large carnivorous animals to a new habitat is extremely complex and a risky endeavour

S Africa can't reduce import duties for India, says senior official

South Africa's high import duties on clothing are a safeguard to protect local manufacturers and cannot be reduced for India, a senior government official said on Monday. Speaking to a gathering of business people from both the countries, Jayawant Irkhede, the Director of Leather and Footwear in the Department of Trade, Industry and Competetion, said that the tariffs are set by the World Trade Organisation. This is the most common question I am asked whenever I meet Indian businesses wanting to export to South Africa, Irkhede said at the meet aimed at promoting business between the two countries. The international partners ask us whether we can reduce the import duties, like the 40 per cent -45 per cent duty on clothing; 30 per cent on shoes and 22 per cent on fabric. It is important to understand that these duties are not given by the South African government. These are the same tariffs provided by the World Trade Organisation (WTO)," he said. He said that it was difficult for the

Cheetah translocation to India result of S Africa's changed eco laws

The translocation of 12 cheetahs to India from South Africa on Saturday could be made possible because of changed eco laws after Nelson Mandela was elected president following 27 years as a political prisoner of the white minority apartheid government. Before that, India had ended all relations with South Africa for nearly four decades as it led the international fight against apartheid. In South Africa, the transition to democracy had substantial implications for wild cheetah conservation. The Game Theft Act (No. 105 of 1991) was responsible for a major change in land use from agriculture to ecotourism," the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE) said in a statement on Saturday. Since 1994 (when Mandela was installed as President) cheetahs have been reintroduced into 63 newly established game reserves that currently support a combined metapopulation of 460 individuals, it said. The Department of Fisheries, Forestry and the Environment has approved the expor

Cabinet approves signing of MoU between India and SA in 'disability sector'

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the India and Republic of South Africa for cooperation in the 'disability sector'

India signs pact with S Africa to bring 12 more cheetahs in February

India has signed an agreement with South Africa to translocate 12 cheetahs to the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, a senior official in the Union Environment Ministry said on Friday. The pact was signed last week and seven male and five female cheetahs are expected to reach Kuno by February 15, the official said. The 12 South African cheetahs have been in quarantine for more than six months and were expected to reach Kuno this month but the transfer was delayed as "some processes in South Africa took some time", the official said on condition of anonymity. Cheetah is the only large carnivore that got completely wiped out from India due to over-hunting and habitat loss. The last cheetah died in Koriya district of present-day Chhattisgarh in 1947 and the species was declared extinct in 1952. Under the Cheetah reintroduction programme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had released the first batch of eight eight spotted felines - five females and three males - from Namibia into a ...

No speedy resolution in sight as Indian biz await South African visas

Indian citizens, especially business leaders, who have been complaining for the past few years about long delays in securing visas for South Africa, may have to wait longer as the government had admitted that its full visa waiting list would only be cleared by the end of June 2024. While Indian missions grant tourist and business e-visas to South Africans within a week, there is no reciprocal facility for Indian citizens at South African missions in India. But there is some hope that businesses and academia might be prioritised after a decision, which centralised all visa issues exclusively to the Home Affairs head office in Pretoria, was revoked recently. The current backlog across all visa categories is 56,543. The department envisages to have cleared the current backlog by June 2024 for all categories of visas, Minister of Home Affairs Aaron Motsoaledi said last week in response to a question from an opposition MP. The average response time varies for different visa categories,

Event business relations between India, South Africa from next month

As business gathers steam after over two-year COVID-19 lull, an event to be held here next month will shift the focus back on improving the trade relations between South Africa and India, especially in the small and medium business enterprise sectors. Organised jointly by the Consulate General of India, Johannesburg in association with leading South African bank Nedbank and networking company Yobuning, the event, to be held on October 14 and titled India-South Africa: Growing Together', will bring together representatives of many companies in South Africa and local entrepreneurs. Announcing the event here on Thursday, India's Consul General in Johannesburg Anju Ranjan said the focus would be not only on doing more business with India but also on the Indian companies to help their South African counterparts grow, which would then benefit both countries. The event is aimed at business-to-business networking and to discuss opportunities and challenges in the key sectors of the two ...

Road Safety World Series 2022: Live streaming, telecast and where to watch

Road Safety World Series 2022: India Legends will play South Africa Legends in the inaugural match of RSWS 2022. Read this detailed report on live streaming, telecast and where to watch the matches

South Africa's Aspen, India's Serum Institute sign vaccines deal for Africa

South Africa's Aspen Pharmacare has signed a deal with the Serum Institute of India to manufacture and sell four Aspen-branded vaccines for Africa

Local currency makes trade more efficient, affordable: AfCFTA Secy General

In a Q&A, Wamkele Mene, who represents a free trade area in Africa, dwells on the investment opportunities in pharma, auto and agro processing that the continent has to offer

Clinical India keep T20I series alive with 48-run win over South Africa

Yuzvendra Chahal (3/20) and Harshal Patel (4/25) led the way with the ball after sizzling half-centuries from Ruturaj Gaikwad (57) and Ishan Kishan (54) powered India to 179 for five

India hopes to return to winning ways even as SA eyes T20I series win

India have not clicked as a complete unit in both the matches so far.

S Africa keen to engage with India Business Forum for bilateral cooperation

South Africa is more than ready to engage with the CII India Business Forum (IBF) and relevant local ministries to further extend the bilateral cooperation, a senior minister said on Sunday

India, S Africa's proposal for patent waiver on vax gets G7 support: MEA

A proposal by India and South Africa to temporarily waive patents on COVID-19 vaccines to ensure their equitable access received widespread support

5 key match-ups to watch out for in India-South Africa T20I series

After two months of IPL 2022 action, India will be back on the road to ICC Men's T20 World Cup in Australia later in the year when they will be up against South Africa in a five-match T20I series

South Africa T20 team arrives in New Delhi ahead of series against India

The South Africa T20I side, led by Temba Bavuma, arrived in New Delhi on Thursday ahead of five-match series against India to be played from June 9 to 19

Shikhar Dhawan rues middle-order collapse after loss to South Africa

"Our wickets fell in a heap and that had an impact on us as a batting unit, Dhawan said at the virtual post-match press conference after his team suffered a 31-run loss.