Agric minister to India for talks

Agric minister to India for talks

Agriculture Minister Senzeni Zokwana left for India on Tuesday evening for bilateral talks with her counterpart Shri Radha Moodan Singh.

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The meeting will be held in Gurgaon close to New Delhi on Friday.

   

Zokwana's visit coincides with the first Indo-SA week to be held in India -- organised jointly by the Indian PHD (Producers, Harmony and Development), the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the SA High Commission in New Delhi. 
   

The programme theme is 'Co-operation in Agriculture and Food Processing'.
   

Zokwana confirmed that the BRICS bank would feature in his discussions in India. 
   

The formation of the multilateral development bank operated by the BRICS states (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) was announced in July at the 6th BRICS Summit in Brazil. 
   

Together, the five original BRICS countries in 2014 comprise more than 2.8 billion people or 40 percent of the world's population, cover more than a quarter of the world's land area over three continents, and account for more than 25 percent of global
GDP.
   

Zokwana said it was important that the South African farming community take advantage of the bank. 
   

"It is an instrument for growth in BRICS countries and especially for agriculture in our region. 
   

"It creates the opportunity for financing partnerships and growing markets for our products," Zokwana said. 
   

The Indo-South African week started in Mumbai on Tuesday and will continue until Friday when Zokwana will be travelling to Gurgaon close to New Delhi, where he is scheduled to meet Singh. 
   

The event is being attended by business organisations, farmers and government representatives from India and South Africa.
   

According to speech notes for the visit, released by Zokwana's spokeswoman Palesa Mokomela, more than 60 Indian companies have invested in South Africa, including TATA, which invests in automobiles and hotels, Mahindra, Sahara Computers and the Bank of India. 
   

Some major South African companies that have invested in India are Sasol, FirstRand, Old Mutual, Acas, Shoprite, SA Breweries and Nandos.
   

The total trade between South Africa and India has increased over the past years, reaching R80.84 billion in 2013 from R36.87 billion in 2008.
   

The following opportunities for trade between South Africa and India have been identified: mining, mining equipment and related services, capital equipment in construction and related infrastructure, agro-processed products, environmental equipment
and related services, autos and components, engineering and financial services that are increasingly attracting attention, and information technology.

 

 

(File photo: Gallo Images)

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