The invitation to President Cyril Ramaphosa for the Republic Day parade is part of India’s efforts to reach out to South Africa.
New Delhi: India is planning to reset its ties with South Africa as President Cyril Ramaphosa embarks on his maiden visit to New Delhi where he will be the Chief Guest of the Republic Day parade.
Ramaphosa is the second South African president to be the chief guest at the Republic Day — President Nelson Mandela was the first in 1995.
India, which has always shared friendly ties with South Africa, will look at “resetting” the bilateral relationship as a way of countering Chinese claims in the Indian Ocean region when President Ramaphosa meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday, sources told ThePrint.
Sources added that India now realises that South Africa is key to all its initiatives in the Indian Ocean region be it in the Japan-India-America trilateral initiative or in the Quadrilateral dialogue between the US, Japan, India and Australia.
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Strengthening security
During her last visit to South Africa in June 2018, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and President Ramaphosa had discussed ways to strengthen security in the Indian Ocean region in the wake of increasing Chinese presence there.
During their meeting in Johannesburg, both sides discussed several initiatives under the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), sources said.
“President Ramaphosa’s visit has not been planned by the Indian government in haste and is not in response to US President Donald Trump turning down the invite to be the Republic Day Chief Guest,” sources said.
The South African President’s visit was planned meticulously, sources added, also keeping in mind India’s thrust on the ‘Blue Economy’ that is aimed at securing the extensive Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ).
“South Africa is absolutely key to India’s security initiatives in the Indian Ocean region and in New Delhi’s wider efforts in the Indo-Pacific with the US,” said Pradeep Chauhan, director of the National Maritime Foundation.
“In all our maritime initiatives, South Africa is a critical component when it comes to China’s increasing expansion in the Indian Ocean,” said Chauhan, who is also a distinguished fellow at the Aspen Institute.
Reviving IBSA, BRICS
Ramaphosa’s visit is expected to kick-start the stalled IBSA (India, Brazil and South Africa) trilateral trade initiative. The summit-level meeting has not happened since 2011. During this visit, it is expected that dialogue will resume again.
India and South Africa are also expected to announce the launch of a defence dialogue between both countries during the visit, sources added.
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