India Africa Trade: Indian Exim Bank signs alliance with leading South African bank to boost India-Africa trade | Techy Kings

The Export-Import Bank of India (India Exim Bank) has concluded a Master Risk Participation Agreement to support trade transactions with FirstRand Bank (FRB) Limited. The agreement was signed in Johannesburg on Monday on the sidelines of the India – South Africa Regional Conclave, in attendance. Silvino Augusto Jose Moreno, Minister of Industry and Trade, Mozambique, Jaideep Sarkar, Indian High Commissioner to South Africa and Busi Mabuza, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa Limited, and Chairman, BRICS Business Council.

FRB has a presence in Botswana, Eswatini, Ghana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia, in addition to a representative office in Mumbai. The agreement opens financing channels to support trade between India and Africa, aiming to strengthen the growing economic engagement between India and African countries.

The agreement was signed under India Exim Bank’s latest trade facilitation initiative, the Trade Assistance Programme. Under this programme, India Exim Bank provides credit enhancement to trade instruments, thereby increasing the capacity of commercial banks/financial institutions to undertake cross-border trade transactions involving markets where trade lines are constrained, or where potential is untapped.

Speaking at the event, India Exim Bank’s Chief General Manager, Vikramaditya Ugra, highlighted, “Over the past few months, India Exim Bank has supported various trade transactions under this programme, covering various sectors including agriculture, automotive parts, capital and engineering goods, food, iron & steel and textiles.”

India Exim Bank’s publication ‘Reinvigorating India’s Economic Engagement with South Africa’ was also released at the Conclave. With the increasing diversification of India’s global trade towards developing countries, South African countries have emerged as important trading partners for India. The India Exim Bank has found substantial complementarity in India’s exports and South African Customs Union (SACU) imports over the past decade. The study identified products with strong export potential from India to SACU. The Preferential Trade Agreement is expected to reduce trade barriers between India and SACU, leading to an overall increase in India’s trade and investment with SACU and with the wider Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. As new trade and investment partnerships form around the world, the study highlights the need for India and Southern African countries to forge mutually beneficial cooperation in a number of areas of interest.