South African President Jacob Zuma, on his first state visit to Asia, said it was time to take trade ties with India to a ?higher level?. India and South Africa took a step on Friday towards extending their economic relations by committing to conclude the preferential trade agreement (PTA) between India and South African Customs Union (SACU) at the earliest. Besides signing three agreements, including an air services pact, to ramp up their business ties, the talks between President Jacob Zuma and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh centered around as boosting trade, as well as reform of the UN Security Council, closer cooperation on climate change and the global economy.
Trade between the two countries currently stands at $7.5 billion annually but Zuma said he wanted that to grow to $10 billion by 2012. South Africa?s trade minister Rob Davies said Brazil, India and China are our priorities. Rob Davies also said his government was keen on investing in India?s power sectors.
On the much-hyped possible deal between Anil Ambani?s |Reliance Communications and South Africa?s MTN, Davies
said the government was not directly involved in this deal but would put forward any suggestions to the South African treasury department.
Commerce minister Anand Sharma said the agreement will help India engage more effectively with the other South countries as well. Sharma called for greater investments between the two countries across sectors to galvanise the growth stories in the both the countries.
Indulging in a bit of soccer diplomacy, Singh wished South Africa a ?grand success? as it gears up to host the FIFA World Cup, the country?s biggest sporting event.