New Delhi: The government on Wednesday said that India and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) have signed the Terms of Reference (ToR) for negotiations towards a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) between India and SACU, marking an important step towards strengthening trade and economic engagement.
The negotiations seek to provide preferential market access to an already established commercial relationship, with significant complementarities in engineering goods and machinery, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, textiles, agriculture and agri-processing.
Calling for a balanced, fair and equitable trade agreement between India and the SACU, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal emphasised the partnership can help diversify markets and create opportunities for both sides to prosper.
Goyal said India can play an important role in supplying affordable medicines and supporting the development of new talent in the IT sector in the SACU region.
India can also help integrate SACU countries into global supply chains in areas where their businesses are competitive and where skills and talent can be developed or are already available.
According to Goyal, India’s engagement with Southern Africa is rooted in a longstanding partnership of equals and extends well beyond trade.
He recalled that Southern Africa occupies a special place in India’s national memory, noting that “India’s relationship with Southern Africa did not begin with commerce. It began with conscience.”
Recalling Mahatma Gandhi, he also highlighted India’s support for the peoples of Southern Africa in their struggle against apartheid.
“What we sign today does not by itself lower a single tariff or clear a single container. Only a final agreement will do that,” he said, calling for an early conclusion of the PTA.
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said this is India’s first ToR signing with the African region and noted SACU’s significance as the oldest customs union in the world.
He stated that the PTA is envisaged to cover eight important chapters, including trade in goods and market access for goods; rules of origin and origin procedures; customs procedures and trade facilitation; trade remedies, including a bilateral safeguard mechanism; sanitary and phytosanitary measures; technical barriers to trade; dispute settlement; and legal and horizontal provisions.
The signing ceremony was attended by Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Jitin Prasada, senior officials from the government of India and the SACU delegation.
(IANS)
