South Africa is committed to strengthening bilateral trade and investment with India, Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau said on Sunday.
Tau addressed a gathering of South African business leaders and heads of Indian companies at the launch of the India-SA Chamber of Commerce (ISACC).
The new organisation was established following meetings in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg with Prof Anil Sooklal, the High Commissioner-designate for South Africa to India. Sooklal, who will take office in September, will be the first Indian-origin South African to lead a mission in India.
“In 2023, India ranked number eight as South Africa’s export destination and number four as a source of imports. Over the past five years, our bilateral trade increased from USD 8 billion to USD 13 billion,” Tau said.
He noted that the bulk of South Africa’s exports to India were commodities, with coal accounting for 62 per cent of these exports.
“We have not yet reached the target of USD 18 billion. We will intensify our efforts to facilitate trade and investment between the two countries,” Tau added.
He called the launch of ISACC “timely” and emphasised the need for increased private sector engagement and government collaboration to overcome barriers to trade expansion.
Tau also stressed the importance of structuring trade between the two countries to include more value-added products and services. He highlighted India's role as a key source of foreign direct investment in South Africa and urged Indian companies to expand their manufacturing footprint in the country.
“We view ISACC as a vehicle that will promote trade and investment ties and assist in addressing the challenges our governments face. Working with you can make a greater impact on our economic positions,” he said.
ISACC representative Atul Padalkar outlined the new organisation’s goals, noting that there are about 130 Indian companies in South Africa, compared to only 20 South African companies in the Indian market.
“There are two main questions we need to address: how South Africa can increase its exports to India and how Indian companies in South Africa can contribute to addressing the country’s challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment,” Padalkar said.
He emphasised the need for a collective business effort to communicate these issues to the government, maximise trade and investment opportunities, and support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMMEs).
“Most of the bilateral trade and investment is driven by large companies, while SMMEs lag significantly behind. We need to bring them into this equation,” Padalkar added, pointing out that many representatives at the event were from SMMEs.
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