India's massive $1 trillion infrastructure development plan offers a "perfect opportunity" for companies in resource-rich South Africa to invest in the nation, Commerce and Trade Minister Anand Sharma has said.
Mr Sharma said India is rolling out massive developments touching rail, road, telecoms, power and airport infrastructure.
"This makes for a perfect opportunity to increase trade and investment between the two nations and, by extension, within the Brics establishment," he said.
He said a number of South African companies have already made their mark in India.
In an interview with a South African newspaper, the Trade Minister said South African companies have respectable experience, expertise and technical skills of handling infrastructure development in emerging economies. These include Old Mutual, which has been involved in commercial property development and ACSA and Bidvest which participated in a concession to redevelop and run the Mumbai Airport.
He said BRICS member states are positioned to complement and to learn from one another but it was important to recognise unique socioeconomic circumstances faced by each member state.
He said the fifth BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit here was an important chapter in the development of the five nation detente.
"This can be seen through the representation of all five heads of state in this summit", he added.
He said the meeting of heads of state will, for the first time, be preceded by a series of ministerial meetings, including ministers of finance and trade. These meeting were designed to consider decisions taken in previous summits in India and China, he further said.
Mr Sharma said this summit was important because it takes place against the background of continued instabilities in the global economic systems. Efforts to push back the persisting economic troubles will come under discussion. The downturn has been going on for a number of years, which makes it a matter of shared concern. We will be looking at what we can do together, more than what we have done to boost economic activity. Key considerations would have to include finding ways of boosting confidence and capital formation across the globe. Capital formation is critical not only for economic growth but to fight unemployment and poverty.
He said BRICS has an important role to play in global affairs because the group represents nations who account for about 40 per cent of the world's population, 30 per cent of the world's land mass, 20 per cent of GDP in real terms and 26 per cent of purchasing power parity terms.
He said it was also important to consider that some BRICS member states account for a significant share of natural resources, which are critical in driving the world's economy. Those endowed with massive natural resources include South Africa, Russia and Brazil.
The minister warned that the economic recovery may be negatively affected by the tendency of nations to move towards protectionism in the post financial crisis era.
The only way out of the downturn is through enhanced cooperation, investment and trade. The world has become interdependent and no country, developed, rich or powerful is insulated from the prevailing crisis.
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