Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses
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South African President’s visit to India enhances relations

Ruchita Beri
He worked at Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses from 1991 to 2023 read more
Commentary

The South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was the chief guest for India’s 70th Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi. His visit was in the backdrop of India and South Africa commemorating 25 years of diplomatic relations, the birth centenary of former South African President and Nobel Laureate Nelson Mandela and the 150 birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, whose learning ground was South Africa. India’s relations with South Africa are longstanding and the two countries have been strategic partners since 1997.  During the current visit India and South Africa decided to deepen the partnership further by signing a three year strategic programme of cooperation. President Ramaphosa’s visit will enhance India’s relations with South Africa in several areas including trade, blue economy, defence and security.

Trade

India and South Africa have strong economic ties. Commercial relations between the two countries have expanded since the resumption of diplomatic relations in 1993. South Africa is considered as a favourable destination for foreign investments in Africa. Therefore it is not surprising that currently 150 Indian companies are doing business in South Africa, injecting 50 billion Rand (3.5 billion USD) into the local economy.1 They include Cipla, Ranbaxy, Dr Reddy’s, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, SBI, ICCI, HCL, Infosys, Vedanta Jindal and others. These companies are involved in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, automotive, information technology, banking and mining.  Equally important is the fact that Indian industry has created jobs in the country. It is estimated that Indian businesses employ 18,000 South Africans.2 Bilateral trade has grown from 2.5 billion USD in 2003-2004 to 9.6 billion USD in 2018-19. 3 At present, trade is mainly in raw materials, there is a strong potential for expanding the items of trade.  During the India – South Africa business summit in 2018, this issue was contemplated by the participants from India and South Africa. The focus is to double the trade to 20 billion USD by 2021.4

Blue Economy and Maritime Cooperation

India and South Africa have a shared oceanic history. They share the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean often referred to as the bridge between the two countries. Therefore maritime cooperation is quite natural. Pretoria has given priority to the development of the ocean or blue economy.  In fact blue economy is central part of Pretoria’s maritime policy. In 2014, South Africa launched Operation Phakisa to harness the ocean economy.5 In India too, there is a growing recognition of the importance of the blue economy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has observed that ocean economy is central to India’s policies. To quote him, “(B) lue chakra or wheel in India’s national flag represents the potential of blue revolution or the ocean economy.”6 Another important national initiative called “Sagarmala”, is a programme for port modernisation and infrastructure development along India’s coast. Equally notable is India’s vision for the Indian Ocean region, SAGAR i.e. Security and Growth for All. An innovative policy, that calls for maritime cooperation with Indian Ocean littorals for stability, security and growth of the region.7 India has also talked of assigning greater priority to building maritime connectivity and cooperation in the neighbourhood.8 Hence there is a growing convergence between India and South Africa on maritime issues and it is hoped that President Ramaphosa’s visit will lead to enhancement of cooperation this sphere.

Defence and Security

India and South Africa have a long standing agreement for defence cooperation. This is reflected in the various military interactions, exchange of visits of service chiefs and the purchase of ammunition for 155 mm Howitzers by India during Kargil war. India and South Africa have been part of the IBSAMAR, maritime naval exercise for several years. The 6th edition of this event was held in October 2018. Similarly, representatives from South African army along with those of 16 other African countries participated in the first Africa-India Field Training Exercise-2019 (AFINDEX-19) in March 2019 Pune, India.9 This exercise aims at building synergies in the humanitarian mine action and joint peacekeeping operations under UN charter amongst the participating countries. India and South Africa have been together in several UN peace keeping missions in past.

During Prime Minister Modi’s visit to South Africa in 2016, interest was evinced in partnering in the field of defence and security. Prime Minister Modi had expressed the possibility of Indian and South African companies jointly developing defence equipment and platforms.10  During President Ramaphosa’s visit, the need to strengthen defence ties was reiterated.  The presence of Monhla Hlahla, chairperson of Denel, the South African arms manufacturer, in President Ramaphosa’s delegation indicates their interest in exploring further cooperation with India.11 It is to be noted that in 2005 Denel was blacklisted by India on corruption charges. However these charges could not be validated by the CBI inquiry in India. Subsequently in 2018, the South African company was taken off the Indian defence ministry’s black list.12 This development indicates that India recognises the fact that South Africa is a prominent arms producer. Such cooperation would be fruitful not only for meeting mutual defence needs but also for responding to the regional and global demand for defence equipment

Multilateral Partners

India and South Africa have a parallel partnership at the global level. They share the views on global governance reforms, combating global terrorism and climate change. They are also partners at various fora such as IBSA, BRICS, IORA, IONS and BASIC. The formation of IORA has its roots in President Nelson Mandela’s remarks during a visit to India in 1995, that “(T) he natural urge of the fact of history and geography should broaden itself to include the concept of an Indian Ocean Rim for socio-economic cooperation and other peaceful endeavours.”13 Currently South Africa is the chair of IORA. India and South Africa should join hands for expansion and further reinvigoration of the IORA activities from maritime safety and security to blue economy, renewable energy, fisheries development and greater networking amongst institution and academics of the region.  Similarly India and South Africa have worked together for reforming global financial architecture at the BRICS, alleviating poverty and hunger in the developing countries through the IBSA fund and lobbying for greater climate finance commitments by the developed countries for developing countries as part of BASIC.

Thus, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s visit to India provided an opportunity to honour the contribution of Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi and reinvigorate India’s relations with South Africa, a strategic partner and a leading economic power in Africa.

Keywords: South Africa
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