Jaishankar Meets South Africa's Mashatile — Trade Deals Take Centre Stage

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar held talks with South African Deputy President Paul Mashatile in Pretoria on Tuesday, with both sides pledging to expand bilateral trade and accelerate infrastructure cooperation across the African continent. The meeting, also attended by Minister of State V. Muraleedharan, signalled a deepening of the India-South Africa strategic partnership at a time when global supply chains remain under pressure.

Trade deficits and the push for balance

India and South Africa have long maintained a trade relationship skewed heavily in favour of India. Data from the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition shows South Africa exported roughly $2.8 billion in goods to India last year, while imports from India exceeded $5.1 billion. That gap was a central point of discussion during Tuesday's talks.

Deputy President Mashatile called for concrete steps to narrow the disparity. He proposed expanded access for South African agricultural exports, including citrus and macadamia nuts, and asked Indian investors to consider manufacturing ventures in the country's Eastern Cape province. Jaishankar acknowledged the concern and referenced ongoing discussions at the India-South Africa Joint Ministerial Commission, which is scheduled to meet again in Johannesburg in September.

Infrastructure and the Lobito Corridor

One of the most concrete outcomes of the meeting was a joint commitment to explore cooperation on the Lobito Corridor, a railway project linking Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the Port of Lobito in Angola. The project, supported by the African Development Bank and several Western governments, aims to reduce transport costs across Southern Africa by up to 30 percent.

India has previously indicated interest in participating in infrastructure projects along the corridor through the India Development Partnership. During the talks, Muraleedharan said India was willing to share technical expertise through its rail modernisation programmes. South African officials welcomed the offer and said they would submit a formal proposal within 60 days.

What the corridor means for Nigerian traders

For Nigerian businesses, the Lobito Corridor matters more than it might first appear. The corridor offers an alternative trade route that bypasses traditional shipping lanes through Cape Town and Durban. If fully operational, it could reduce the time and cost for goods moving between West Africa and the copperbelt region of Central Africa. Trade analysts at the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce have noted that faster movement of goods through the corridor could eventually benefit Nigerian exporters competing for markets in the east of the continent.

Covid vaccines and the road not taken

The meeting also revisited a chapter that still shapes how many South Africans view India. During the pandemic, India supplied millions of doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from the Serum Institute of India under the COVAX facility. South Africa later sold those doses to other African nations after a variant emerged locally, a move that drew criticism from some quarters in New Delhi.

Mashatile sought to put that episode behind them. He told reporters outside the Union Buildings that South Africa valued India's pharmaceutical capabilities and saw opportunities for joint research on future disease outbreaks. Jaishankar responded by pointing to India's expanded Vaccine Maitri programme, which now includes three African countries as priority recipients.

Energy cooperation and the coal question

Both governments acknowledged that energy policy would be a sensitive area going forward. South Africa is in the midst of a contested transition away from coal, while India remains one of the world's largest consumers of the fuel. At the meeting, Jaishankar proposed joint research on carbon capture technology through an Indian institute and a South African university to be named in the coming months.

Environmental groups in both countries have pushed back on deeper energy cooperation, arguing that such partnerships would lock in fossil fuel dependence. The South African低碳 Transitions research network issued a statement calling for any collaboration to respect the country's emissions reduction commitments under the Paris Agreement.

What comes next

The two sides agreed to establish a joint working group on digital infrastructure, a move that reflects India's growing exports of IT services and South Africa's ambitions to expand broadband access in rural areas. The working group will hold its first meeting virtually before the end of the current quarter.

A full bilateral summit, to be hosted in New Delhi, is expected before the end of the year. Officials from both governments said the date would be announced following consultations between the Prime Minister's Office and the South African Presidency.

For Nigerian observers, the trajectory of India-South Africa relations carries implications beyond diplomatic optics. The two countries together represent a significant share of Africa's GDP and trade volume. How they align on infrastructure, standards, and investment rules will shape the environment in which Nigerian companies operate across the continent. Watch for the joint working group outcomes and the timing of the planned summit as early indicators of whether these pledges translate into binding agreements.