India, South Africa decide to add fresh momentum to defence, agri, trade ties
Narendra Modi met South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa on the sidelines of the 15th Brics Summit in Johannesburg on Wednesday and discussed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation in defence, agriculture, trade and health, among other areas.
Both leaders reviewed the progress made in bilateral relations and expressed satisfaction at the progress achieved in various fields, including defence, agriculture, trade and investment, health, conservation and people-to-people ties, according to an external affairs ministry readout.
Both sides also exchanged views on continued coordination in multilateral bodies and regional and multilateral issues.
Ramaphosa expressed support for India's G20 presidency and appreciated New Delhi's initiative to give the African Union full membership of the G20. He conveyed that he looked forward to visiting New Delhi for the G20 Summit.
Modi congratulated Ramaphosa on the successful hosting of the Brics Summit and accepted Ramaphosa's invitation for a state visit to South Africa.
During the Brics Plenary session, Ramaphosa said he wanted to congratulate India for the Chandrayaan-3 mission.
«I would like to congratulate India, particularly as you speak about the need for cooperation in space, in a few hours India's spacecraft Chandrayaan-3 will be landing on the moon. We congratulate you.
This for us, as the Brics family, is a momentous occasion and we rejoice with you. We join you in the joy of this great achievement...»
Ramaphosa said he was «willing to donate more cheetahs to India».
«Should you need more cheetahs, you have come to the home of cheetahs,» he told Modi. Earlier this year, 12 cheetahs were translocated from South Africa to India under an agreement signed between the two
. Read more on economictimes.indiatimes.com
