Pranab Mukherjee congratulated by South African president Jacob Zuma

JOHANNESBURG: South African President Jacob Zuma has congratulated Pranab Mukherjee on becoming the 13th President of India.

In his congratulatory remarks, Zuma said that South Africa looked forward to engaging India at the highest level.

"South Africa will also explore new opportunities in both the bilateral and multilateral environments to engage India in an evolving global environment," Zuma said.

Reaffirming India's status as a strategic partner, Zuma said that South Africa's objective will be to build on the strong bilateral relationship and continue to foster goodwill and sound relations across a broad spectrum.

The two countries are strategic partners at a multilateral level and have created a platform for cooperating in various fora, including the Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) forum; the India, Brazil, South Africa (IBSA); the Brazil, South Africa, India, China - a climate change-specific forum; the G-20 and the India-Africa Forum, all of which reinforce the strong bilateral relationship between the two countries.