Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan held high-level talks with South African Deputy President Shipokosa Paulus Mashatile in New Delhi on Tuesday, focusing on strengthening bilateral relations and advancing shared priorities of the Global South. The meeting underscored the growing strategic engagement between India and South Africa across multiple sectors.

During the discussions, both leaders reviewed the full spectrum of India–South Africa ties, including trade, investment, defence cooperation, skills development, and people-to-people exchanges. According to statements from the Vice President’s Office shared on social media platform X, the engagement also included deliberations on enhancing coordination in multilateral forums and promoting shared priorities within the Global South framework.

The South African Deputy President was accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising senior ministers and officials. His visit to India, which began on May 29 for a six-day programme, included several bilateral meetings aimed at deepening cooperation between the two nations. Earlier in the day, Mashatile also met External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, where discussions focused on expanding collaboration in trade, investment, MSMEs, digital infrastructure, and development partnerships.

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Following the meeting with the Vice President, Mashatile reiterated the importance of leveraging shared values between India and South Africa to promote peace, equality, and fairness in global institutions. In posts shared on X, he highlighted the strong institutional linkages between the two countries, particularly parliamentary cooperation, and emphasised the importance of learning from each other’s governance experiences to strengthen democratic systems.

Officials from both sides also noted that India and South Africa share a longstanding relationship rooted in historical ties and common commitments to non-alignment and South–South cooperation. Both countries are active members of key multilateral groupings such as BRICS, the G20, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), the India–Brazil–South Africa Dialogue Forum (IBSA), and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), which continue to serve as platforms for coordinated global engagement.

The South African Presidency also described the relationship as one built on shared history and a common vision for development in the Global South. After concluding his engagements in New Delhi, Deputy President Mashatile is scheduled to travel to Hyderabad as part of his ongoing visit to India.

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