New Delhi/Durban, May 19 (IANS) External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday invited South African President Jacob Zuma to attend the third India-Africa Forum Summit which is to be held in India in October this year.
Sushma Swaraj, who is in Durban, called on Zuma and extended an invite from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the IAFS-III in October 2015 in New Delhi, said an external affairs ministry statement.
She also extended an invite to her South African counterpart Maite Nkoana-Mashabane to attend the mega event to which India for the first time will invite all the 54 countries of the African Union.
Both Zuma and Mashabane conveyed their appreciation and said they look forward to a successful summit.
Mashabane assured that South Africa would support India’s membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
Both ministers co-chaired the Ninth Session of the India-South Africa Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) in Durban on Tuesday during which the two countries agreed to launch negotiations for an India-South Africa Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA).
Officials from the seven sub-committees under the JMC were also present at the meeting.
To make the JMC more result-oriented, the two ministers agreed to work under the framework of a five-year strategic programme of cooperation. They identified the following priority areas of cooperation: defence, deep-mining, science and technology, agriculture and food processing and insurance.
To facilitate this, a new joint working group on trade and economic matters would be established, said the statement.
Furthermore, the South African side suggested that negotiations be launched to arrive at PTA. Talks would be initiated at the earliest in this regard, the statement said.
It was also decided to set up a new sub-committee on science and technology, and promote cooperation in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The two ministers discussed regional and multilateral issues including BRICS, IBSA, IORA, counter-terrorism, cyber security, reforms of multilateral institutions, especially the United Nations Security Council.
They recognized the need for urgent reform of the UN Security Council and agreed that 2015, being the 70th anniversary of the UN, presented a unique opportunity to expedite the reform process and work towards a concrete outcome, the statement said.
Sushma Swaraj and Mashabane decided to hold the next Session of the Joint Ministerial Commission in India at a mutually convenient date in 2017.