India and South Africa have agreed to enhance cooperation in the critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, and manufacturing sectors. These discussions took place during the ‘BRICS 2026 Trade Ministers’ Meeting’ held in Jaipur.
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal met with South Africa’s Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition, Parks Tau. The meeting emphasized advancing the India-Southern African Customs Union (SACU) Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) and expediting the conclusion of negotiations.
On the social media platform X, Piyush Goyal stated that the two nations discussed the signing of the Terms of Reference (ToRs) for the India-SACU PTA and the need to fast-track negotiations. Deliberations also covered potential areas of collaboration in critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, and manufacturing.
He noted that India and South Africa agreed to work together to further strengthen bilateral trade and finalize negotiations promptly.
These discussions come at a time when India is placing special emphasis on strengthening supply chains for critical minerals essential to clean energy technologies, advanced manufacturing, and strategic industries.
India hosted this meeting in Jaipur under its BRICS 2026 presidency. During the meeting, BRICS nations discussed strengthening trade and economic cooperation, fostering innovation, developing robust value chains, and promoting sustainable industrial growth.
According to the India-Africa Entrepreneurship Forum (IAEF), trade between India and Africa has grown from $7 billion in 2001 to over $98 billion in 2023. Meanwhile, India’s total investment in Africa has surpassed $75 billion, primarily concentrated in the telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, infrastructure, and agriculture sectors.
The IAEF estimates that the combined economy of India and Africa holds a potential value of approximately $7 trillion. There are vast opportunities for both sides in sectors such as healthcare, artificial intelligence (AI), fintech, climate technology, manufacturing, logistics, and digital infrastructure.
