SA and India commit to investment protection pact

South Africa and India are committed to a bilateral investment protection agreement that will see not only trade but also investments grow. South African Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies last week met with the Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma to discuss economic relations between South Africa and India. According to Davies, one of the outcomes of the talks was to actively engage on an investment protection agreement. “This will guarantee business investing in either of the two countries that their investments will remain secure and bear fruit.” He said already South Africa was seeing more Indian companies investing in the country – not just by exporting their goods here, but also by opening manufacturing plants, a move the DTI has welcomed and encouraged. Another key issue under discussion between the two countries is the SACU-India preferential trade agreement that will be discussed in the future. In the meantime a draft will be prepared with key inputs from role players both in government and in the business sector. Sharma said it was also important for both countries that technology transfers take place. “We want to see skills development on both sides. We have trained tens of thousands of people in various domains and we want to extend that training to South Africans as well.”