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A South African delegation led by the Honourable Minister of Public Works, Ms S Sigcau, visited India for a period of seven days. The purpose of the visit was to observe the strategies of Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd. in Agro manufacturing, processing and value adding. Furthermore, the delegation met with several ministers and senior officials in various government departments, namely Rural Development, Urban Development and Agriculture.

The meetings focussed mainly on exchanging information and policies, strategies and technological developments. It was observed that there are similarities between India and South Africa, resulting in a strong potential for co-operation, especially in water harvesting and conservation methods, training, and capacity building and technology transfer. It was noted that it would make better impact if other South African government departments, such as Agriculture, Land Affairs, Water Affairs, were to visit India on a similar mission. Following on the foray of the Industrial Development Corporation into a study of projects in India, further co-operation by parastatals such as Independent Development Trust would be ideal. This would ensure integration of approaches in line with existing co-operation agreements between the two countries, it was felt that it would be mutually beneficial to all parties if the engagement process was to be accelerated. Areas of co-operation would focus on:

* Water conservation and harvesting methods and technology;
* Training and capacity building;
* Food processing and other value adding methods;
* Policy and strategy development in poverty alleviation and
* Public/private sector development

Contact: Mr. Lucky Mochalibane, 012 337 2057 Cell: 982 899 9775

Issued by: Ministry of Public Works, 24 May 2001