India and South Africa: diplomatic relations and milestones

This article sets out the history of India's relations with South Africa, the political partnership between the two countries, visits by leaders and ministers, parliamentary exchanges and the main mechanisms for dialogue. It is based on the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) bilateral brief of April 2026. Economic ties, sectoral cooperation, culture and consular matters are covered in the other articles of this guide.

Historical background

According to the MEA brief of April 2026, India's links with the struggle for freedom and justice in South Africa date back to the period in which Mahatma Gandhi started his Satyagraha movement there, over a century ago. The brief states that India was at the forefront of the international community in its support to the anti-apartheid movement.

India was the first country to sever trade relations with the apartheid Government, in 1946, and later imposed a complete diplomatic, commercial, cultural and sports embargo on South Africa. It worked to put apartheid on the agenda of the UN, NAM and other multilateral organisations, and for comprehensive international sanctions against South Africa.

The ANC maintained a representative office in New Delhi from the 1960s onward. India also worked for the AFRICA Fund, which sustained the struggle through support to the frontline countries. Nelson Mandela was awarded India's highest civilian honour, the Bharata Ratna, for his role in the anti-apartheid movement.

Restoration of relations

Following talks between the then South African Government and the ANC, relations were restored after a gap of over four decades with the opening of a Cultural Centre in Johannesburg in May 1993. An Agreement establishing full diplomatic and consular relations was signed on 22 November 1993, during the visit to India of the then South African Foreign Minister, Pik Botha. The Indian and South African missions opened after that agreement are listed in the practical guide in this series.

Strategic partnership

India and South Africa signed a Strategic Partnership agreement in March 1997, during the visit of President Nelson Mandela to India. The agreement is called the Red Fort Declaration, and the brief states that it made South Africa India's first strategic partner.

The year 2023 marked 30 years of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations. The brief describes "a steady consolidation of close and friendly ties" with South Africa, both bilaterally and through BRICS, IBSA and other fora. It adds that bilateral agreements have been concluded in areas ranging from economic and commercial cooperation, defence and culture to health, human settlements, public administration and science and technology.

Visits by the Prime Minister of India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi last visited South Africa from 21 to 23 November 2025 to attend the 20th G20 Leaders' Summit in Johannesburg. On 23 November he held a bilateral meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa on the sidelines of the summit, and he took part in the IBSA leaders' meeting held on the same day.

The Prime Minister also visited South Africa from 22 to 24 August 2023 for the 15th BRICS Summit and the BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue. He held a bilateral meeting with President Ramaphosa in Johannesburg on 23 August. Before that visit, the two leaders spoke by telephone on 3 August 2023, among other things to assess progress in bilateral cooperation in the context of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations, and on 10 June 2023, when they reviewed bilateral cooperation and regional and global issues.

The Prime Minister met President Ramaphosa in Germany on the sidelines of the G7 Summit on 27 June 2022. He spoke to him by telephone on 17 April 2020 and on 4 February 2021 on COVID-19 cooperation. Earlier, he paid an official visit to South Africa for the 10th BRICS Summit from 25 to 27 July 2018, and a bilateral visit from 7 to 9 July 2016.

Visits by South African Presidents

President Ramaphosa made an official visit to New Delhi for the G20 Leaders' Summit on 9 and 10 September 2023. He had earlier paid a State Visit to India on 25 and 26 January 2019 and was the Chief Guest at the 70th Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi on 26 January 2019. On 13 September 2026 he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit.

President Jacob Zuma attended the 8th BRICS Summit in Goa, India, on 15 and 16 October 2016. He also led a South African delegation to the 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit from 27 to 29 October 2015. Deputy President Mr. Paul Mashatile made a working visit to India from 29 May to 03 June 2026, his first bilateral visit to India as Deputy President.

Foreign ministers and other ministerial contacts

External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr. S. Jaishankar visited Johannesburg for the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting on 20 and 21 February 2025 and called on President Ramaphosa on its sidelines. He held a telephone conversation with South African Foreign Minister Mr Ronald Lamola on 8 October 2024.

In 2023 the EAM visited Cape Town from 31 May to 4 June for the BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting held on 1 and 2 June. He called on President Ramaphosa, held bilateral meetings with counterparts including Dr. Naledi Pandor, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, and interacted with the Indian community. He had met Dr Pandor in New Delhi on 1 March 2023, during her visit from 1 to 4 March for the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting and the Raisina Dialogue. The two ministers also interacted at the IBSA Foreign Ministers' Meeting on 22 September 2023, on the sidelines of the 78th UNGA in New York.

On 21 November 2023 the EAM represented India at the virtual BRICS Extraordinary Joint Meeting on the Middle East situation in Gaza, convened by President Ramaphosa as Chair of the BRICS group. The next day, 22 November 2023, Dr Pandor represented South Africa at the virtual G20 Leaders' Summit.

Minister of State for External Affairs Shri Pabitra Margherita attended the G20 Development Ministers' Meeting in Skukuza, Kruger National Park, on 24 and 25 July 2025. On its sidelines he held talks on bilateral issues with Ms. Maropene Ramokgopa, South African Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation.

Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ms. Candith Mashego-Dlamini visited India from 21 to 24 February 2024 to represent South Africa at the Raisina Dialogue 2024, where she delivered a statement under the theme 'South Rising, Institutionalizing a South First Approach at G20'. On 22 February she held a bilateral meeting with Minister of State for External Affairs Ms Meenakshi Lekhi, and the two reviewed the bilateral relationship.

Deputy Minister Mr. Alvin Botes took part in the virtual Foreign Ministers' Session-II of the 3rd Voice of Global South Summit on 17 August 2024, and in the Foreign Ministers' Meeting of the 2nd summit on 17 November 2023.

National Security Adviser Shri Ajit Doval led a delegation to the BRICS NSA Meeting and Friends of BRICS Meetings in Sandton, Johannesburg, on 24 and 25 July 2023. Minister of State for Labour and Employment Shri Rameswar Teli attended the BRICS Labour and Employment Ministers' Meeting on 28 and 29 September 2023 and met South African Labour Minister Mr. Thulas Nxesi on its sidelines. In November 2024, Minister of Women and Child Development Smt. Annpurna Devi held a virtual meeting with Ms Sindisiwe Lydia Chikunga, South African Minister of Youth, Women and Persons with Disabilities.

South African ministers at G20 meetings in India

During India's G20 Presidency, the following South African ministers and deputy ministers attended G20 meetings:

• Finance: Mr. Enoch Godongwana, at the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meetings in Bengaluru (24-25 February), Washington DC (12-13 April) and Gandhinagar (17-18 July).
• Agriculture: Deputy Minister Mr. Mcebisi Skwatsha, Hyderabad, 17 June 2023.
• Tourism: Ms Patricia de Lille, Goa, 21-22 June 2023.
• Basic education: Mrs Matsie Angelina Motshekga, Pune, 22 June 2023.
• Labour and employment: Mr. TW Nxesi, Indore, 21 July.
• Mineral resources and energy: Mr. Gwede Mantashe, Goa, 22 July.
• Environment: Ms Barbara Creecy, Chennai, 28 July 2023.
• Anti-corruption: Deputy Minister Dr. Chana Pilane Majeke, Kolkata, 12 August 2023.
• Health: Dr Joe Phaahla, Gandhinagar, 18-19 August 2023.
• Digital economy: Mr. Mondli Gungubele, Bengaluru, 19 August 2023.
• Trade and investment: Deputy Minister Ms Nomalungelo Gina, Jaipur, 24-25 August.

Parliamentary exchanges

The brief describes exchanges between the two Parliaments as another dimension of the relationship. An 11-member delegation led by Dr. M Maimane, BOSA Leader and Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Appropriations (SCOA) of the Parliament of South Africa, visited New Delhi on a benchmarking and study tour from 3 to 6 February 2026. It met the Public Accounts Committee, Finance Committee, Committee on Public Undertakings and Estimates Committee of the Parliament of India.

Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha Shri Harivansh Narayan Singh led a delegation to the 11th G20 Parliamentary Speakers Summit (P20) at Kleinmond, Western Cape Province, from 1 to 3 October 2025. In 2023 he led a Parliamentary delegation, with MPs Sumitra Balmiki and Indra Hung Subba, to the 9th BRICS Parliamentary Forum in Johannesburg from 27 to 29 September, where he chaired a session on 'Climate Change and Legislative Mobilisation in BRICS Countries'.

In the aftermath of the terrorist attack in Pahalgam and the subsequent Operation Sindoor, a 9-member all party Parliamentary delegation led by Smt. Supriya Sule visited South Africa from 27 to 30 May 2025. It met the Deputy Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, the Deputy Minister in the Presidency, members of the Portfolio Committee on International Relations & Cooperation, and leaders of the African National Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Alliance (DA).

A 12-member South African Parliamentary delegation attended the 9th P20 Parliamentary Speakers' Summit in New Delhi from 12 to 14 October 2023. It included Ms. Nosiviwe Noluthando Mapisa-Nqakula, Speaker of the National Assembly, and Mr. Nkosiyakhe Amos Masondo, Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces.

Two South African committee delegations made study visits to India in early 2023. A six-member delegation of the Human Settlements Portfolio Committee of the Gauteng Legislature visited Delhi from 23 to 27 February 2023, and a 10-member delegation of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) visited from 30 January to 3 February 2023.

Dialogue mechanisms

The India-South Africa Joint Ministerial Commission, at the level of Foreign Ministers, was set up in 1994. India hosted its 10th session on 17 January 2020.

Foreign Office Consultations (FoCs) are held between the two foreign ministries. The 10th session took place in Pretoria on 3 October 2019 and the 11th in New Delhi on 3 August 2022. Sector-specific mechanisms, such as the Joint Defence Committee and the working groups on trade and on consular matters, are described in the other articles of this guide.