SA-Indian agricultural cooperation has received the thumbs-up from both governments. At a meeting of the Indian Union Cabinet on 7 February, prime minister Manmohan Singh approved the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two countries.
According to India’s minister of information and broadcasting PR Dasmunsi, the MoU “will promote bilateral cooperation through joint activities and exchanges in the areas of agriculture, including animals, fisheries, poultry, agricultural extension, land and water management and conservation, promotion of agricultural trade and investment, agricultural biodiversity management and conservation through the exchange of scientific delegations and experts between the two countries.”
Johan Pienaar, Agri SA deputy executive director, says the MoU isn’t yet an indication of concrete trade agreements. “This is a forerunner, a declaration of intent, not a line-by-line product evaluation. Once trade agreements are examined, points of injury calculated and imports and exports evaluated, then it becomes a concrete trade agreement.”
The MoU will be valid for the next five years. – Cornelia du Plooy
SA and India tie tighter knot
SA-Indian agricultural cooperation has received the thumbs-up from both governments.
