High Commission of India
Pretoria

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Brief on India - South Africa Relations

Political Relations

India and South Africa signed a Strategic Partnership agreement in March 1997 during the visit of President Nelson Mandela to India called the Red Fort Declaration, thus making South Africa India’s first strategic partner. The year 2023 marked 30 years of re-establishment of diplomatic relations with South Africa.  Against the background of India’s consistent support to the anti-apartheid struggle, there has been a steady consolidation of close and friendly ties with South Africa, both bilaterally and through BRICS, IBSA and other fora. 

Recent High-Level meetings

Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri. Narendra Modi last visited South Africa from 21 to 23 November 2025, to attend the 20th G20 Leaders' Summit in Johannesburg. Prime Minister also held a bilateral meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on 23 November in Johannesburg on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. Hon’ble Prime Minister also participated in the IBSA leaders’ meeting held on 23 November 2025 on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders' Summit.

Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri. Narendra Modi interacted with the President of South Africa, H.E Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa on the sidelines of the 17th BRICS Summit in Rio de Janerio, Brazil on 06 July 2025 and also at the 51st G-7 Summit held in Kananaskis, Canada on 17 June 2025.

Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi also visited South Africa on 22-24 August 2023 to participate in the 15th BRICS Summit  and  in the BRICS - Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue. Prime Minister also had a bilateral meeting with H.E. Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa on 23 August in Johannesburg on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.  

Prior to the visit, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had a telephone conversation with President Cyril Ramaphosa on 03 August 2023, inter alia, to assess the progress in bilateral cooperation, including in the context of the 30th anniversary of establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations.

The Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa H.E. Mr. Paul Mashatile paid a visit to India from May 29 to June 03, 2026. The Deputy President was accompanied by a high-level delegation, including five Ministers and senior government officials. During his visit, the Deputy President of South Africa, Mr. Paul Mashatile called on Rashtrapati Ji, Smt. Droupadi Murmu. He also held discussions with Vice President of India, Shri C.P. Radhakrishnan. Following the talks, Vice President of India hosted a working lunch in honour of the visiting Deputy President. Separately, External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar called on the South African Deputy President. Following the official engagements in New Delhi, the South African Deputy President visited Hyderabad where he also met the Chief Minister of Telengana and interacted with major Indian pharmaceutical companies.

President Ramaphosa undertook an official visit to New Delhi to participate in the G20 Leaders’ Summit on 9-10 September 2023.  Earlier, President Ramaphosa paid a State Visit to India on 25-26 January 2019 and was the Chief Guest at the 70th Republic Day celebrations on 26 January 2019 in New Delhi. 

Ministerial Visits/Meetings

A 3-member delegation led by Shri. Jayant Chaudhary, Hon’ble Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship participated in the ‘Outcomes Finance Alliance Summit held in Cape Town from 25-27 March 2026.

An Indian delegation led by Minister of State for Coal and Mines, Shri Satish Chandra Dubey, along with officials from the Ministry of Mines and the Ministry of Steel, participated in Mining Indaba 2026, one of the world’s prominent Mining Exhibitions. 

A delegation led by Shri Bhupender Yadav, Hon’ble Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change attended the G20 Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group (ECSWG) Ministerial Meeting on 16-17 October 2025 at International Convention Centre, Cape Town, South Africa.

A delegation led by Hon’ble Minister of Culture, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat attended the G20 Culture Ministers Meeting scheduled on 27-29 October 2025 at Kwa-Dukuza, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa.

A delegation led by Shri Jitin Prasada, Hon’ble Minister of State for Commerce and Industry attended the G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial meeting (TIWG) on 09–10 October 2025 at Boardwalk International Convention Centre, Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), Eastern Cape, South Africa.

A delegation led by Shri Manohar Lal, Hon’ble Minister for Power and Housing attended the G20 Energy Transitions Ministerial Meeting (ETMM) on 09–10 October 2025 at Kwa Zulu Natal, South Africa. 

Hon’ble Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa, Mr. Ronald Lamola, visited New Delhi to attend the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (FMM) on 14 and 15 May 2026. He held bilateral meeting with EAM on the sidelines of the BRICS FMM.

Hon’ble Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition of South Africa, Mr. Parks Mpho Tau led a delegation to India for the 20th CII India-Africa Business Conclave from 26-29 August 2025. During his visit to India, he held bilateral meeting with Hon’ble Minister of Commerce and Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal on 26 August 2025. South Africa was the focus country for the CII India-Africa Business Conclave.

Parliamentary visits

Exchanges between the Parliaments are another dimension in our bilateral relations. An 11-member delegation led by Dr. M Maimane, BOSA Leader and Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Appropriations (SCOA) of the Parliament of South Africa visited New Delhi on a benchmarking/study tour from 3rd to 6th February 2026. The visiting delegation held meetings at the Parliament of India with the Public Accounts Committee, Finance Committee, Committee on Public Undertakings and Estimates Committee.

A delegation led by Hon’ble Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha, Shri. Harivansh Narayan Singh attended the 11th G20 Parliamentary Speakers Summit (P20) at Kleinmond, Western Cape Province, South Africa from 01 to 03 October, 2025.

In the aftermath of the terrorist attack in Pahalgam and subsequent Operation Sindoor, a 9-member all party Parliamentary delegation led by Smt. Supriya Sule visited South Africa from 27-30 May, 2025. The delegation held meetings with the Deputy Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Deputy Minister in the Presidency, Members of the Portfolio Committee on International Relations & Cooperation and leaders of African National Congress (ANC) party & Democratic Alliance (DA) party.

Joint Ministerial Commission and Foreign Office Consultations

The India-South Africa Joint Ministerial Commission at the level of Foreign Ministers was set up in 1994. On 17 January 2020, India hosted the 10th India-South Africa Joint Ministerial Commission. The 10th session of Foreign Office Consultations (FoCs) was held in Pretoria on 3 October 2019 and the 11th session of India-South Africa FoCs on 3 August 2022 in New Delhi. 

Defence Cooperation

The 9th Joint Defence Committee (JDC) meeting was conducted at Johannesburg, South Africa from 23-24 June 2025. Shri. Rajesh Kumar Singh, Defence Secretary led a 9-member delegation to South Africa. SAS Amatola (SA Navy Frigate) participated in IFR26 and MILAN 26 at Visakhapatnam from 17-25 February 2026. The chief of SA Navy Vice Admiral Monde Lobese led the South African delegation.

Skill Development

To address the shortage of skills among South Africans which is a national priority of the Government of South Africa, an MoU on the setting up of the “Gandhi-Mandela Centre of Specialisation for Artisan Skills”(GMCoS) in South Africa was signed during the Prime Minister’s visit to South Africa in July 2018. The Centre, set up with the collaboration of Hindustan Machine Tools International (HMTI) offers technical expertise, training material, machines and equipment as well as interactive ICT equipment for video conferencing. After the success of the first GMCoS, South African side requested for the second centre in Majuba TVET college in KwaZulu Natal.

Cheetah Translocation Project

An MoU on Cooperation in the Reintroduction of Cheetah in India was signed between the Republic of India and the Republic of South Africa on 17 January 2023. The MoU facilitates cooperation between the two countries, inter alia, to establish a viable and secure cheetah population in India.  A first batch of 12 cheetahs (7 males, 5 females) were translocated from South Africa to India on 18th February 2023. 

Commercial & Economic Relations

Commercial relations have flourished since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1993. Recent bilateral trade figures are as follows:

Source: Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Govt. of India

Major Indian exports to South Africa include vehicles and components, transport equipment, drugs and pharmaceuticals, engineering goods, footwear, dyes and intermediates, chemicals, textiles, rice, and gems and jewellery, etc. Major Indian imports from South Africa include gold, steam coal, copper ores & concentrates, phosphoric acid, manganese ore, aluminum ingots & other minerals. 

Science and Technology

High Commission of India, Pretoria, in collaboration with University of Pretoria hosted the India-South Africa Critical Minerals Symposium on 17 March 2026 at the Future Africa Campus of the University, The symposium was jointly inaugurated by the Vice Chancellor, Prof Francis Peterson and the High Commissioner, Mr. Prabhat Kumar. Leading mining companies, industry experts, mining consultants and academicians from South Africa along with four professors from IIT Bombay, IIT Hyderabad and ISM (IIT) Dhanbad held panel discussions to deliberate on critical minerals cooperation. 

Indian Community

The South African Indian origin community numbers around 1.7 million and constitutes about 3% of South Africa’s total population. The year 2010 marked the 150th anniversary of the first arrival of Indians in South Africa. 2014 marked 100 years of Gandhiji’s final departure to India from South Africa; he reached India on 9th Jan 1915; this date is now commemorated annually as Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.

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July 2026