On 28 November 2024, the Foreign Correspondence Club of South Asia (FCC) organised an interactive session chaired by H.E. Prof (Dr) Anil Sooklal, High Commissioner of South Africa to India.
Prof Sooklal was welcomed as the new High Commissioner to India and spoke on the historical and mutually beneficial ties between India and South Africa.
The High Commissioner reflected on South Africa’s relations with India from the difficult years of apartheid to Dr Nelson Mandela’s visit to India in 1995 and beyond.
The commercial ties between India and South Africa have progressed satisfactorily over the past 30 years. Total trade between the two countries was 14,530.18 million dollars in 2023-24 with major exports from India including footwear, engineering goods, dyes, textiles chemicals, etc. The major imports from South Africa include gold, steam coal, copper ores & concentrates, phosphoric acid, manganese ore, aluminium ingots & other minerals.
Ambassador Rajiv Bhatia, the former Indian High Commissioner to South Africa, also addressed the session and underscored the importance of relations between the two countries.
Shri Mayank Singh, Joint Secretary (E & SA), MEA, also addressed the gathering and underlined the importance of relations with South Africa and hoped that the aspirations of the global south would be achieved under the South African Chairmanship of G20.
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