Modi, Ramaphosa to unveil India-SA action plan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa are likely to announce on Friday a plan of action for New Delhi and Pretoria to step up cooperation in defence, energy, education and internal security over the next three years.

Modi and Ramaphosa will also discuss ways to expand bilateral trade and economic cooperation, with particular focus on blue economy.

Ramaphosa will land in New Delhi early Friday on his maiden visit to India after taking over as President of South Africa on February 15 last year. He and Modi will hold talks at Hyderabad House.

R-Day guest

He will join President Ram Nath Kovind as the Chief Guest at the Republic Day ceremony on Rajpath on Saturday.

This is the second time a South African President will be the Chief Guest at the Republic Day ceremony. Nelson Mandela, legendary icon of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, had visited New Delhi in 1995 and attended the ceremony.

Ramaphosa will address the first IBSA (a bloc comprising India, Brazil and South Africa) Gandhi-Mandela Freedom Lecture in New Delhi on Friday.

T S Tirumurti, Secretary (Economic Relations), said that India and South Africa would work out a plan of action to step up cooperation over the next three years.