India trade mission to highlight SA trade and investment

The IMC has successfully undertaken a number of similar missions in the past, including to the US, Western Europe and the Middle East.

To be led by Dr Essop Pahad, Minister in the Office of the Presidency, the delegation will include senior leaders of industry, trade and commerce plus representatives from provincial development agencies.

“Our objective is to highlight opportunities for trade and investment in South Africa to key audiences in important sectors in India,” says Iqbal Sharma, deputy director general of Trade and Industry South Africa at the dti. “We also want to raise the profile of South Africa as an important destination for tourists and visitors.”

Special meetings

The mission will leave for India on 7 October 2007 and return to South Africa on the 12th. Investment conferences will be held in Mumbai and New Delhi and members of the delegation will also have special meetings with their business counterparts in the two Indian cities.

Pahad will be interviewed by the media and participate in knowledge forums that will receive extensive media coverage. During the visit he will also meet with several members of the Indian cabinet, including the Minister for External Affairs, Anand Sharma.

Trade between South Africa and India has been growing at about 30% per annum in recent years. The projections are that bilateral trade will quadruple in the next four years, reaching more than R100 billion by 2011.

“We want to introduce the Indian business community to the wide range of investment opportunities that are opening up in South Africa,” says Iqbal Sharma. “On this mission we will focus specifically on a few key areas that should attract the specific interest of the people we will be meeting.”

This includes business process outsourcing, the automotive sector, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, infrastructure, information technology, and investment opportunities in South Africa's provinces. These are also among the sectors identified by the government's Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative (ASGISA).

“Key destination”

“South Africa has positioned itself as a key destination for global trade and investment on the basis of its strengths and potential. We now compete on an equal footing with other comparable markets such as Brazil, Malaysia, Australia, Singapore and South Korea,” says Sharma.

“With sound financial policies in place as well as clearly defined economic and industrial growth strategies there is significant potential for growth in investment by Indian companies.”

“Investors should grasp the opportunities available to them to reap the benefits in years to come,” says Yvonne Johnston, CEO of the IMC.

South Africa is currently India's biggest trade and investment partner in Africa and serves as an important gateway into markets on the rest of the continent. Together with Brazil the two countries also form the IBSA alliance – representing the largest developing economies on their respective continents.

“There are significant opportunities for growth in trade and investment in South Africa,” says Johnston. “This mission will demonstrate to the Indian business community that South Africa is indeed Alive with Possibility.”