JOHANNESBURG: This was part of talks here Wednesday between South African Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Cassaburi and Communication and IT Minister Pramod Mahajan. Mahajan is leading a team from India, accompanied by chief whips of political parties in Parliament, in a move to give a new impetus to bilateral ties by positioning India's IT and telecom prowess in Africa and the Middle East. Mahajan told IANS that as far as telecommunications ties between South Africa and India were concerned, "there has been no certainty around an action plan in the last five years". The two ministers agreed to extend the memorandum of understanding (MoU) for another five years in order to agree on identifying deliverables and action plans. These will be placed before South African President Thabo Mbeki before he begins a state visit to India scheduled for some time later this year. Mahajan said that with a strong presence in South Africa by Indian companies already, platforms would be created for more Indian companies to get involved in joint ventures and collaborations. He would impress on Indian firms the market opportunities that existed here and had not been capitalised on. India will also help alleviate South Africa's shortage of skilled IT workers. One possibility is assisting with the establishment of an advanced institute for IT studies. Mahajan said India would help if a concrete proposal was received to assist South Africa in the areas of broadcasting and space technology, in which this country said it was not very advanced. Mahajan also met Essop Pahad, minister in the office of the president, to discuss further co-operation in the information and communication technologies (ICT) and entertainment sectors. The Indian delegation visited Egypt before coming here. Mahajan described the visit as very successful, having met all the main players in government there, including President Hosni Mubarak and Prime Minister Ates Ebeid. Mubarak outlined to Mahajan what Egypt is doing in attempts to defuse the situation in the Middle East, including the current crisis in Iraq. The Egyptian president was keen on expanding the traditional ties with India in the agricultural and industry to new areas such as IT and communication. The South African market is the 20th largest market for IT products and services worldwide and there are roughly 3,000 IT companies in South Africa. Indian companies that have a significant presence in South Africa include Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys Technologies, IFLEX Solutions, state-run TCIL, Modicom Solutions, Siemens Information Systems, and BPL Display Devices. The visit comes at an opportune moment when a series of bilateral talks have taken place with both countries focusing on the relevance of providing economic inputs to bilateral ties. The Indo-Egyptian Working Group held its second Meeting at Bangalore in January 2002 focusing on new initiatives in IT. With regard to South Africa, a series of bilateral initiatives have been undertaken at the government and business level. The Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council has undertaken an in-depth study of the opportunities available for Indian firms in South Africa. The Indian delegation will visit Cape Town to meet South African parliamentarians and then go to Durban to visit historic Gandhian sites there before returning home Sunday.
Source: IANS