SA, India agree on visas
2008-02-22 20:01
Pretoria - South Africa and India agreed to allow businessmen travelling between the two countries multiple entry visas, as part of several agreements signed in Pretoria on Friday.
Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma met with her Indian counterpart Pranad Mukherjee, who is in the country to discuss already burgeoning political and economic ties.
Bilateral agreements covering science and technology, co-operation on customs and excise matters and visa exemption for diplomatic passport holders were signed.
"We have also agreed to grant multiple entry visas to business people operating in our respective countries to facilitate their easier movement," said Dlamini-Zuma.
Mukherjee's South African visit takes place ahead of an India-Africa summit in April.
Trade between the two countries has increased from about R200m in 1995 to R18bn last year.
India has automotive, steel and mining investments in South Africa, which in turn exports finished goods, transport and other equipment to India and invests in manufacturing there.
The two countries are in an alliance with Brazil, dubbed IBSA, that seeks to boost co-operation among countries of the southern hemisphere and to ensure a better deal for developing nations on the global stage.
- AFP