By Fakir Hassen,IANS,
Johannesburg : The difficulty faced by Indians in getting visas to travel to South Africa as well as the possibility of more flights between the two countries is to be addressed at high level by both sides .
Captains of business and industry from both countries pointed out at the India-South Africa CEO’s Forum here Monday that the delay in getting such visas is a major impediment to strengthening the economic relationship between the two countries.
India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and his South African counterpart Rob Davies were asked to investigate the issue and report back at the next meeting of the Forum in six months time in India.
The Forum also resolved that the connectivity constraints of visas and transport between the two countries should be prominent on the agenda when South African President Jacob Zuma officially visits India for the first time next year to interact with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Members called for ways to be explored to increase the frequency of flights between India and South Africa, inviting the national airlines of both countries to make presentations at the next Forum meeting on the viability of increasing flights. The possibility of extending he current South African Airways flights between Johannesburg and Mumbai to Delhi will also be investigated..
The CEO’s Forum was revived after first being mooted three years ago under the leadership of Ratan Tata and South Africa’s Patrice Motsepe. Members have agreed to have formal meetings twice annually, rotating between India and South Africa.