India and South
Africa have agreed to further extend by five more years the Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation in the field of Communications
and Information Technology. The MoU in the field was signed between
the two countries in the year 1998. The Union Minister of Parliamentary
Affairs, Communications and Information Technology, Shri Pramod
Mahajan who is currently leading a delegation to Egypt and South
Africa comprising of Chief Whips of various political parties
in Parliament, met the Minister of Communications and Information
Technology, Ms. Ivy Matsepe Cassaburi at Johannesburg in South
Africa yesterday with a view to strategise IT&Telecom relations
between the two countries. During the meeting, both the countries
also decided to devise an Action Plan for cooperation in the field
of Telecommunications and put it in place before the visit of
the South African President who is expected to visit India during
the calendar year.
During his meeting
with the South African counterpart, Shri Pramod Mahajan also discussed
prospects of further expanding business partnerships between the
Indian and South African entrepreneurs. The South African Minister
for Communications and Information Technology, in particular,
drew attention towards the paucity of manpower in their country
and said that their country did not have the advanced institute
of Information & Communications Technology (ICT) for training
of personnel in their country. Another sector where their country
felt ‘poor’ was the Broadcasting Sector and stated that they were
looking forward for extended cooperation in the sectors. The South
African Minister also mentioned that their country was eagerly
looking forward for cooperation in the field of Space Technology
in which India has made remarkable advances. Shri Pramod Mahajan
assured that India would look into all aspects of the proposals
that were putforth by South Africa.
Presently, South
Africa is the 20th largest market for IT products and
services worldwide and there are roughly 3,000 IT companies in
South Africa. Much of the growth in the South African ICT sector
is related to demand from the IT and Telecommunications sub-sector.
In this context, Shri Pramod Mahajan said that Indian companies
which already have significant presence in South Africa in the
field of IT&Telecom, should come forward to explore new and
alternative markets. Some of the Indian companies include: TCS,
Infosys Technologies Ltd., IFLEX Solutions Ltd., TCIL, Modicom
Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Siemens Information Systems Ltd and BPL Display
Devices Ltd. Shri Mahajan’s visit and his meeting with South African
Minister assumes special significance in the context of providing
an ideal platform to harness opportunities in the domestic IT&Telecom
markets.
Shri Pramod Mahajan
also met Mr. Essopahad, Minister in the President’s Office of
South Africa at Johannesburg yesterday. Both the Ministers had
discussions in the field of Information & Communications Technology
in general and said that they were looking forward for enhanced
cooperation in the field of Telecommunications. It was felt that
despite strong Indian presence, newer initiatives were required
to diversify their market potential.
South Africa is the
telecommunications leader on the African continent and it is the
fastest growing sector of the economy. The cellular industry in
South Africa is one of the fastest developing in the world. Since
it started in mid-1994, it has grown to approximately 5 million
subscribers in 2000. Growth has been mainly boosted by the introduction
of pre-paid cellular services. Forecasts by the EMC World Cellular
Database predict 14 million users in South Africa by 2003.
Both the countries
have already identified areas for cooperation which include:-
Outsourcing opportunities, networking products, IT solutions,
highly specialised software for communications, value added services
for communication platforms, e-commerce and internet, training
in telecommunications, participation in joint projects, the joint
development of new telecom technologies, software for Shipping
and Power industry, geographical information systems, software
for financial services and retailing sectors, IT enabled learning
and systems integration. TCIL and ITI have been actively associated
in areas of network expansion, turnkey projects and in providing
new telecom products and solutions.
Currently, cooperation
between India and South Africa are governed as per the Memorandum
of Understanding which the two countries had entered in 1998.
As per the MoU, both the countries had agreed to cooperate and
develop training facilities to strengthen skilled manpower in
the field of telecommunications including establishment of training
institutions, exploration of opportunities for joint manufacturing
and marketing and development of R&D capabilities. For the
purpose, both the countries also agreed to establish a Joint Working
Committee for achieving the objectives of the MoU.
