India asks South Africa to expedite talks for India-Southern African Custom Union pact

NEW DELHI: India has asked South Africa to expedite the negotiations for the proposed market opening pact between New Delhi and a group of African nations.

The matter came up for discussion during the meeting of Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and his South African counterpart Rob Davies in Johannesburg.

"Both the Ministers agreed for the need for early finalisation of the India and SACU PTA," an official statement said today.

Sharma and Davies reviewed the preferential trade agreement (PTA) between India-Southern African Custom Union (SACU). SACU consists of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Swaziland.

Sharma, who is on a two-day visit to South Africa, asked Davies to use his good offices to expedite SACU's response to India's proposals on tariff related matters to fasten the negotiations, it said.

"Both sides have instructed the officials to meet and thrash out the differences," it added.

The PTA is slightly different from the free trade agreement (FTA).

In FTA, the two sides reduce or eliminate duties on maximum number of products they trade in, whereas in PTA, the tariffs are not necessarily eliminated, but they are lowered than the countries not party to the agreement.

Sharma also expressed India's concerns at the temporary suspension placed by the South African authorities on frozen boneless buffalo meat imports from India.

"Sharma has requested that the matter may be looked into as the Indian meat conforms to the highest international norms and standards," it said.

Further the Indian minister expressed hope that the bilateral trade between India and South Africa would reach USD 15 billion before 2014. The two-way commerce stood at USD USD 13.65 billion in 2011.

India's exports to South Africa comprises mineral fuels, automobiles, iron, steel, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, cotton yarn and fabrics.

The country's import include gold, aluminium, phosphoric acid, coal, pulp and waste paper, precious stones, including diamonds.