Page 30 - Diplomatists Nov

SP E CIAL REPOR T
India is now South Africa’s biggest trading partner in the global south.
In 2006, the two countries signed the Tshwane Declaration, agreeing to
treble their trade volume by the year 2010.
shops in the urban centers and cities of South
Africa, including in Natal, Johannesburg, and
Durban. The Indian-owned shops supplied the
indigenous South Africans, other African labor
migrants working in the mining areas, and some
Europeans with basic products for their households.
The goods sold were sourced from either Europe
or Asia, thus placing the Indian shop-owners as
the middlemen in connecting South Africa with
the global market. One of the most famous Indian
migrants to South Africa at the time was the lawyer
and later political leader, Mahatma Gandhi, who
arrived in South Africa in 1893. He played an
important role in that country’s racial relations
and the struggle for freedom. Thus, the Indian
migrants to South Africa played a critical role in
laying the foundations for modern South Africa’s
socio-economic and political foundations.
On the political scene, Gandhi’s Satyagraha
movement also traces its roots to his time working
in South Africa. Advocating for peaceful co-
existence and non-violence in the fi ght against
colonial rule, once it gained her independence
in 1947, India was one of the first countries to
support the African National Congress (ANC). As
Apartheid took center stage, India also severed its
economic, political, and cultural-sporting relations
with the South African government. India also
championed South Africa’s independence at such
forums as the UN General Assembly and the
Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) where India was
a founder member. The ANC was also allowed to
establish its international office in New Delhi in the
early 1960s. Many of the Indian migrants to South
Africa also joined opposition political movements,
later political parties, including the ANC and the
South African Communist Party (SACP).
Post-Colonial Era Connections: Mid-20th
Century and Beyond
Due to the local pressure for change and the
international embargos placed on South Africa, led
by India and other global powers, the Apartheid
30 • Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 8 • Issue 9 • November 2020, Noida
regime was defeated in the early 1990s. As Nelson
Mandela of the ANC took over the reins as President
of South Africa in May 1994, India became one of
the first countries to establish diplomatic relations
with the democratic era in South Africa.
Since then, the two countries have enjoyed
cordial diplomatic relations. There have been
high-level exchange visits by the leaders of the
two countries. For instance, there is the India-
South Africa Joint Ministerial Commission
(JMC), set up in 1994, which brings together
the foreign affairs ministers and other interested
government organs. The latest of such meetings
took place on 17 January 2020, and India hosted
it. Furthermore, since signing a joint “Defense
Memorandum” in 1996, the two countries
have also shared intelligence reports, defense
equipment and naval ships, and co-coordinated
the training of troops.
In economic terms, there have also been
continued business transactions by individual
businesses and large companies from both
countries. India is now South Africa’s biggest
trading partner in the global south. In 2006, the two
countries signed the Tshwane Declaration, agreeing
to treble their trade volume by the year 2010.
Key exports from South Africa to India include
gold and other minerals, jewelry, coal, coke,
briquettes, chemicals, metals, and paper products.
Major Indian exports to South Africa include the
following: vehicles, petroleum products, iron and
steel, cereals, textiles, and pharmaceuticals. Since
2010, both India and South Africa became members
of the BRICS group of countries alongside Brazil,
Russia, and China. The BRICS group plays a
critical role in stabilizing the global economy,
rather than leaving this only to the traditional G7
countries. Since 2003, alongside Brazil, the two
countries are also members of the India-Brazil-
South Africa Dialogue Forum, known in short
as IBSA. This organization helps to promote
democratization and socio-economic development
in the IBSA circles and in the global south.