Speaking at a luncheon session on telecom development, Kumar said that his ministry had only recently signed an MoU with South Africa for furthering cooperation. He also underlined the need for more partnerships between public and private sectors.

Jay Naidoo, minister of posts, telecommunications and broadcasting of South Africa, who was also present on the occasion, said that a more competitive environment had now emerged in the world economy.

He stressed the need for value addition for the industry to survive. Naidoo said that his own country had come out with a new telecom policy in March 1996 and the results achieved were satisfactory. About Three million new telephone lines had been installed in South Africa in the last five years.He asked for more joint ventures to promote theindustry with the emphasis on lowering the cost by using new technologies.