India, S Africa agrees to expand cooperation in IT, power, tourism

India and South Africa, whose ties have acquired a "robust and dynamic" character, today agreed to expand cooperation in a number of fields like power, IT, health, tourism and infrastructure development.

This was stated by President Pratibha Patil after talks with her South African counterpart Jacob Zuma, who hailed her state visit as "significant".
Patil, who arrived Pretoria yesterday on a week-long visit, was given a ceremonial welcome at the historic Union building housing the office of the South African President.
"It is even more satisfying that our bilateral relationship today has acquired a robust and dynamic character, to assume the dimension of a strategic partnership... Today's discussions with President Zuma were wide-ranging and covered bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest," she said.
She said India is interested in working closely with the government of South Africa to develop the Gandhi heritage sites in this country.
Extending an invitation to Indian businessmen to invest in South Africa, Zuma said his country has launched an ambitious programme of over USD 100 billion for infrastructure development by 2014.
South Africa would like to enhance cooperation with New Delhi in a number of areas especially infrastructure development, training, trade relations and tourism, he said.
To boost its infrastructure programme, South Africa wishes to enhance skills in the areas of engineering, information and communication technology, computer science, finance, economics and accounting, Zuma said.
"With trade between South Africa and India increasing steadily, we should all work to reach even higher figures," he said