JOHANNESBURG, July 26: The South African Government is to press its regional partners in the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) to speed up the finalization of the preferential trade agreement with India that could double the current $6-billion trade between the two countries.
SACU consists of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland. “We have been going far too slowly on the preferential trade agreement,” South African Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies conceded to captains of business and industry from India and South Africa at the closing session on Saturday of the Doing Business with India Conference organized here by the Indian mission and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). “We are saying where can we give each other preferences. Let us try to accommodate each other in ways that are mutually beneficial, so this trade agreement is very important,” he added.
“The reasons that I heard it is moving so slowly has to do with the dynamics of SACU itself,” Davis said. “We have to negotiate trade agreements with our partners in SACU. We are going to insist that this matter of negotiating with India is given the priority it deserves and that we are not going to accept any further blockages in the process. That you can take as a very firm commitment — we’re going to make this thing happen,” he added.
Davies said that both he and India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma had committed to doing everything that they could to remove any blockages in boosting trade and investment between the two countries. Analysts here believe that the current India-South Africa trade of $6 billion could be easily doubled with a preferential trade agreement. (IANS)
SACU consists of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland. “We have been going far too slowly on the preferential trade agreement,” South African Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies conceded to captains of business and industry from India and South Africa at the closing session on Saturday of the Doing Business with India Conference organized here by the Indian mission and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). “We are saying where can we give each other preferences. Let us try to accommodate each other in ways that are mutually beneficial, so this trade agreement is very important,” he added.
“The reasons that I heard it is moving so slowly has to do with the dynamics of SACU itself,” Davis said. “We have to negotiate trade agreements with our partners in SACU. We are going to insist that this matter of negotiating with India is given the priority it deserves and that we are not going to accept any further blockages in the process. That you can take as a very firm commitment — we’re going to make this thing happen,” he added.
Davies said that both he and India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma had committed to doing everything that they could to remove any blockages in boosting trade and investment between the two countries. Analysts here believe that the current India-South Africa trade of $6 billion could be easily doubled with a preferential trade agreement. (IANS)
