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India plans Focus Africa programme to boost trade

India plans to launch a Focus Africa programmeme to promote economic co-operation, trade and investment with African countries, a senior Indian minister announced in Johannesburg.

"We intend to give final shape to this programme in the current financial year," Minister of State for Commerce Omar Abdullah said. "If the 20th century belonged to the Western world, the 21st century will belong to Africa."

Abdullah was speaking at the inauguration of the Made in India Show at Gallagher Estates. The Confederation of Indian Industry has organised the four-day show, the second in South Africa.

It has representation from over 90 companies in industry, IT, food processing and pharmaceuticals.

South African Trade and Industries Minister Alec Irwin welcomed Abdullah's announcement and said: "This link can be extremely important and is going to lead to growth and development between our economies."

Abdullah also called for increasing trade between India and South Africa, which has slumped to $1.3 billion from $2 billion a year ago.

"This is mostly because of lower bullion purchases from South Africa by India. However, even discounting this, an analysis of our trade over the last few years shows stagnation creeping into quite a few sectors," Abdullah said.

"We must guard against complacency, and I address this particularly to the private sector, for in today's globalization it is they who have to be at the forefront of our trade promotion efforts," he added.

Irwin concurred. "We must open our markets to each other. We must bring about trade and investment. Our private sector has in the past been a little nervous of this, but they should not be."

"Both of our economies can supply each other with internationally competitive products, with the diversity of products that we need. The beneficiaries will be our people - from a rising standard of living."

Abdullah noted in this context that the draft of a free trade agreement had been handed over to South Africa. "We are now looking forward to receiving their comments to take this matter further."

"We look forward to a rapidly growing commercial and economic relationship with South Africa, which has a lot to offer India in terms of raw materials and minerals and a number of technologies which India needs."

"We must move to relationships which go beyond buying and selling, though these will, of course, remain very important. There needs to be more institutionalised co-operation between both parties, that utilises the strengths of both countries to create joint ventures not only in India and South Africa, but in third countries as well," Abdullah said.

"India feels that in view of the vast resources and potential, Africa offers tremendous opportunities for economic co-operation, not only in trade but also in investment, technological co-operation, transfer of technology, and sharing of skills and resources."

Indo-Asian News Service

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