Remarks by Prime Minister at India-South Africa Business meet in Pretoria (July 08, 2016)
Remarks by Prime Minister at India-South Africa Business meet in Pretoria (July 08, 2016)
President of the Republic of South Africa,
Hon'ble Minister of International Relations and Cooperation,
Hon'ble Minister of Trade and Industry,
Captains of South African and Indian Industry,
Ladies and Gentlemen!
I am happy to be with you today.
India-South Africa relations are built on a strong foundation of history.
· We were directed together by destiny;
· We are driven together by dreams.
Our history had many common chapters.
With struggle and sacrifice, we changed the course of history.
Fortunately, in this process,
we had the guidance of the greatest leaders which the human race has seen.
Friends,
Our leaders like Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi brought political freedom for us.
Now, it is the time to work for economic freedom.
Thus, our relations rest upon our common desire to fulfil the aspirations of our people.
· We have been friends in adversities ;
· Now we should franchise in opportunities
With the blessings of our great leaders, both the countries have marched on the path of development.
Both South Africa and India are important players in the BRICS economies.
Our people at home and the world at large are looking at us with great expectations.
We can join handsto fulfil these twin expectations.
It is heartening that we have had very active and fruitful engagement on all possible fronts.
This august gathering is also an important part of the same process.
Friends,
I admit that I am little late in visiting this great country.
However, President Zuma and I have met several times in last two years.
South Africa is India's key trade and investment partner.
In the last ten years, bilateral trade has grown almost 380%.
The story of investments also continues to be bright.
There is continuous flow of investments both ways.
More than 150 Indian companies are operating in South Africa.
Similarly, many companies of South Africa are doing excellent work in India.
However,
the scope is tremendous.
The potential is increasing day by day.
This is because both countries are strengthening their economic fundamentals.
Therefore, we must look at ways to diversify our trade basket, to complement our needs and to serve the people.
Our active partnership across various facets and forums is a testimony to the fact that such engagement is possible.
Friends,
For Indian companies, South Africa is a home in this continent.
Many leading Indian companies have a foot-print here.
They are engaged in a wide range of activities.
Many Indian CEOs are here with us.
My advice to them is to see that their business results into socio--economic transformation of this great country.
I have been advocating three Ps for India.
(Public Sector, Private Sector and People’s Partnership).
I have been emphasising on the Personal Sector.
The same applies here.
Skill development and community empowerment should be central to your business plans.
The spirit of African humanism , UBUNTU , should reflect in your business ethos.
This is equal to our philosophy of
सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः
This is what Mahatma Gandhi stood for.
We have always believed in nurturing and nourishing not in exploiting.
Encouraging fact is that our business engagement is not one way.
South African companies are also active in India.
Many of them have presence on ground.
We have learnt from your knowledge and benefited from your innovative products.
South African business excellence and Indian capacities must leverage each other; for growth and development in our two countries.
Friends,
In last two years we have worked very hard on all fronts to set the economy right.
We have got very encouraging results of our sincerity and hard work.
Today, India is a bright star in the global economy.
We are being seen as the engine of global growth.
India has become the fastest growing large economy in the world.
At a time of global slowdown, we have registered 7.6% growth in GDP.
World Bank, IMF and other institutions have projected even better growth in the coming days.
Not only that, in 2014-15, India contributed 12.5% of global growth.
Its contribution to global growth is 68% higher than its share of the world economy.
The FDI in this year has been the highest ever.
The ratings agency Moody's has said that FDI inflows were all-time high in 2016, highlighting the success of our 'Make in India' initiative.
Make in India has become the biggest brand that India has ever had.
Both within and outside the country, it has captured the imagination of people, institutions, industries, businesses, media and the political leadership.
As part of the Make in India exercise, we have given emphasis on Ease of Doing Business.
We have taken decisive steps to ease the licensing processes and rationalize the provisions relating to clearances, returns, and inspections.
If I talk of some other indicators:
· India has consistently been ranked as the most attractive investment destination by several global agencies and institutions.
· We have jumped 12 ranks in the latest global ranking by the World Bank on ease of doing business.
· India has also improved its UNCTAD ranking of investment attractiveness.
· Against 15th so far, now we are at 9th place.
· India has also jumped 16 places on the World Economic Forum’s global competitive index.
Due to positive impact of our policies and practices, our confidence has gone up.
This also gives us motivation to further simplify our processes to become an easier place to do business.
An innovative Start-up India programme has also been launched to incubate ideas and develop them into enterprises.
All this is having a good impact on expansion of job market and rise in purchasing power of the people.
This finally leads to India becoming a place with better quality of life and higher living standards.
We have ensured that our growth is inclusive and embraces both rural and urban communities.
We are taking a leap towards next generation infrastructure in both core areas and social sectors.
Friends,
Socio-economic challenges of both our countries are more or less same.
My advice is that the wheels of development should not be re-invented.
Our two countries are very uniquely positioned to complement each other.
For example:
· Nature has been kind on both of us.
We have immense natural resources.
The need is to properly harness them and to use them sustainably for welfare of the common man.
We can learn a lot from each other in this.
· We particularly want to engage with your world class mining companies.
Some of them are already active in India.
But we want strategic engagements on this front.
Our interest in this sector is not one sided.v · Secondly, the challenge of climate change and the need of fast track development is before both of us.
We are both committed to clean and green pathways to progress.
At the same time, we need energy resources.
· With the help of a number of countries, we have formed the International Solar Alliance.
I hope that we will enrich and take advantage of this forum.
· Our two countries have the unique benefit of opposite seasons
When it is summer or mango season in India, it is winter here, and vice versa.
We can leverage this geographic advantage to market each other's fruits, vegetables and other perishables
· India with its huge domestic market offers massive opportunities for your food processing industry.
Our collaboration in this sector will bring value for our farmers and our villages.
· We in India are working on very ambitious plans of infrastructure.
The task which is pending from the days of independence has to be completed fast now.
Together, we can do a lot to fill these gaps.
· India is best suited to help you in technology and skills.
Efforts are already underway in these areas.
At the India Africa Forum Summit held in New Delhi last year, we under-took to educate and train 50,000 Africans in India over the next five years.
These are just a few examples.
We can work together in a number of areas.
· From Defence to Dairy;
· From Hardware to Software;
· From Medicines to Medical Tourism;
· From Soft Skills to Science and Technology.
There are opportunities for us.
India today is among the most open economies.
We have liberalised our FDI regime in most of the areas and in all possible ways.
We have rationalised our norms and made it simple for businesses to establish and grow.
Friends,
To conclude, I would like to say that we have added institutional depth to our partnership.
Our BRICS business engagement and CEOs Forum have helped to expand and enrich our partnership.
Today, we have successfully held the 3rd Meeting of the India-South Africa CEOs Forum.
We value your recommen- -dations and look forward to putting them into practice.
We are thankful to the South African government for introducing 10 year BRICS (ब्रिक्स) visa for regular business travellers.
The Indian Industry is quite encouraged by the move.
In February this year, we launched our e-Visa programme for South Africa.
This is valid for short term tourist and business travellers.
You can now get your visa for India sitting at home in your email, and that too free of cost!
Friends,
· Let us join hands once more;
· Let us commit ourselves together once again;
· This is necessary to fight the enemy of poverty;
· This is perhaps much more challenging;
· But we have to succeed;
· And this only can be our real tribute to our great leaders.
Thank you.
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Press Statement by Prime Minister during his visit to South Africa
His Excellency President of the Republic of South Africa, Mr. Jacob Zuma,
Friends,
Thank you, Excellency, for your warm words of welcome and for your generous hospitality. Even though this is my first visit to this great country, my delegation and I already feel at home in this Rainbow Nation. For this, Excellency,we are deeply gratefulto you. For me personally, this visit is an opportunity to pay homage to two of the greatest human souls to have ever walked this Earth - Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela.
Friends,
Through centuries, India and South Africa have nurtured strong people to people ties.We stood together in our common fight against racial subjugation and colonialism.It was in South Africa that Gandhifound his true calling.He belongs as much to India as to South Africa.
Friends,
Our shared values, suffering and struggles provide a strong foundation to our strategic partnership. And,its success is visibleacross a range of sectors.In our discussions today, President Zuma and I reviewed the full spectrum of our engagement.We agreed that in the last two decades, our relationship has been a story of strong advances and concrete achievements. Two way trade has grownby over 300 percent in last ten years. Indian companies hold strong business interests in South Africa. About one fourth of our investments in Africa are in this country.
And, there is potential to expand our business and investment ties further, especially in the areas of:
• Minerals and mining;
• chemicals and pharmaceuticals;
• high-technology manufacturing; and
• information and communication technology.
I am convinced that Industry to industry ties can not only bring rich economic gains to our societies.They can give a new shape to our partnership, and drive it to new levels.And, in the process, also help both our nations to play a more robust regional and global role.Later today, the President and I will sit down with the business leadership of the two countries to identify synergies in our engagement.
Friends,
The nature of our developing economies demands that our engagement should also focus on improving our human capital. Our capacities and needs in the fields of vocational, technical and professional education complement each other, and can benefit both our people. India is also ready to share it's expertise and capacities for the development of small and medium business in South Africa. Beyond economic ties, and links of business, trade and investment, we can also partner in the field of defence and security. Both, at the level of industry and for our strategic and security needs. In India, this is one of the sectors witnessing a complete transformation. It offers exciting opportunities in defence trade. Our companies can also pool their capacities to jointly develop or manufacture defence equipments and platforms. And, not just to meet our defence needs, but also to respond to regional and global demand.
Friends,
President Zuma and I also agreed on the need to work more closely on international issues and emerging global challenges. I thanked the President for South Africa's support to India's membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. We know that we can count on the active support of our friends, like South Africa. Climate change, and its impact on the world, is our shared concern. We agreed that a large scale effort and focus on renewable energy is needed to address this challenge. It was with this in mind that India had led the efforts to form an International Solar Alliance at COP 21 in Paris. I believe that it can be the most effective platform for access to knowledge, technology and finance for promoting solar energy.I am thankful to President Zuma, for South Africa’s partnership in this Alliance, which already has the support of over 120 countries. Terrorism is another shared threat that puts at risk the safety and security of our people. It attacks the very foundations of our society. The President and I agreed that our two nations need to stay vigilant and cooperate actively to combat terrorism, both in our region and in the world.
Friends,
The waters of the Indian Ocean are our common sea frontiers. And, the Indian Ocean Rim Association has emerged as a key platform of engagement for the maritime neighbours connected by the Indian Ocean. I welcome South Africa’s chairmanship of the organization for 2017-19. India and South Africa are also working together to shape priorities of international agenda through IBSA [India, Brazil and South Africa] and BRICS. I look forward to welcoming President Zuma in Goa for the BRICS Summit later this year, in October.
Friends,
Let me say this in the end:
• From the Satyagraha of Gandhi to the forgiveness of Madiba;
• From ports of Gujarat to the shores of Durban;
• United by our shared values and common struggles;
• In the vast opportunities of our oceans and economies; and
• through the spirit of Vasudaiva Kutumbakum and Ubuntu.
Our relationship has been a story of resolve, determination, justice and the excellence of human endeavour.It is truly exceptional and unlike any other.
Thank you,
Thank you very much.
Friends,
Thank you, Excellency, for your warm words of welcome and for your generous hospitality. Even though this is my first visit to this great country, my delegation and I already feel at home in this Rainbow Nation. For this, Excellency,we are deeply gratefulto you. For me personally, this visit is an opportunity to pay homage to two of the greatest human souls to have ever walked this Earth - Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela.
Friends,
Through centuries, India and South Africa have nurtured strong people to people ties.We stood together in our common fight against racial subjugation and colonialism.It was in South Africa that Gandhifound his true calling.He belongs as much to India as to South Africa.
Friends,
Our shared values, suffering and struggles provide a strong foundation to our strategic partnership. And,its success is visibleacross a range of sectors.In our discussions today, President Zuma and I reviewed the full spectrum of our engagement.We agreed that in the last two decades, our relationship has been a story of strong advances and concrete achievements. Two way trade has grownby over 300 percent in last ten years. Indian companies hold strong business interests in South Africa. About one fourth of our investments in Africa are in this country.
And, there is potential to expand our business and investment ties further, especially in the areas of:
• Minerals and mining;
• chemicals and pharmaceuticals;
• high-technology manufacturing; and
• information and communication technology.
I am convinced that Industry to industry ties can not only bring rich economic gains to our societies.They can give a new shape to our partnership, and drive it to new levels.And, in the process, also help both our nations to play a more robust regional and global role.Later today, the President and I will sit down with the business leadership of the two countries to identify synergies in our engagement.
Friends,
The nature of our developing economies demands that our engagement should also focus on improving our human capital. Our capacities and needs in the fields of vocational, technical and professional education complement each other, and can benefit both our people. India is also ready to share it's expertise and capacities for the development of small and medium business in South Africa. Beyond economic ties, and links of business, trade and investment, we can also partner in the field of defence and security. Both, at the level of industry and for our strategic and security needs. In India, this is one of the sectors witnessing a complete transformation. It offers exciting opportunities in defence trade. Our companies can also pool their capacities to jointly develop or manufacture defence equipments and platforms. And, not just to meet our defence needs, but also to respond to regional and global demand.
Friends,
President Zuma and I also agreed on the need to work more closely on international issues and emerging global challenges. I thanked the President for South Africa's support to India's membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. We know that we can count on the active support of our friends, like South Africa. Climate change, and its impact on the world, is our shared concern. We agreed that a large scale effort and focus on renewable energy is needed to address this challenge. It was with this in mind that India had led the efforts to form an International Solar Alliance at COP 21 in Paris. I believe that it can be the most effective platform for access to knowledge, technology and finance for promoting solar energy.I am thankful to President Zuma, for South Africa’s partnership in this Alliance, which already has the support of over 120 countries. Terrorism is another shared threat that puts at risk the safety and security of our people. It attacks the very foundations of our society. The President and I agreed that our two nations need to stay vigilant and cooperate actively to combat terrorism, both in our region and in the world.
Friends,
The waters of the Indian Ocean are our common sea frontiers. And, the Indian Ocean Rim Association has emerged as a key platform of engagement for the maritime neighbours connected by the Indian Ocean. I welcome South Africa’s chairmanship of the organization for 2017-19. India and South Africa are also working together to shape priorities of international agenda through IBSA [India, Brazil and South Africa] and BRICS. I look forward to welcoming President Zuma in Goa for the BRICS Summit later this year, in October.
Friends,
Let me say this in the end:
• From the Satyagraha of Gandhi to the forgiveness of Madiba;
• From ports of Gujarat to the shores of Durban;
• United by our shared values and common struggles;
• In the vast opportunities of our oceans and economies; and
• through the spirit of Vasudaiva Kutumbakum and Ubuntu.
Our relationship has been a story of resolve, determination, justice and the excellence of human endeavour.It is truly exceptional and unlike any other.
Thank you,
Thank you very much.
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