South Africa's financial systems are sophisticated, robust and well regulated. South African banking regulations rank with the best in the world. Foreign banks are well represented and electronic banking facilities are extensive, with internet banking - a growth feature of the sector. Our world class infrastructure includes a modern transport system, low-cost and widely available energy, and sophisticated telecommunications facilities. Located at the southernmost tip of the African continent, South Africa is ideally positioned for easy access to the countries comprising the Southern African Development Community (SADC) - with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) in the region of US$160 billion. South Africa also serves as a trans-shipment point between the emerging markets of Central and South America. Major shipping lanes pass along the South African coastline in the South Atlantic and Indian oceans through its seven commercial ports, which form by far the largest, best equipped and most efficient network on the continent. These ports are not only conduits for trade between South Africa and her partners in the SADC and the South African Customs Union, but also function as hubs for traffic emanating from and destined for Europe, the Americas as well as the east and west coasts of Africa. The country also borders with Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho, and its well-developed road and rail links provide the platform and infrastructure for ground transportation deep into sub-Saharan Africa.

South Africa is also a dynamic force within the 14-member South African Development Community (SADC), and has been a key player in the development of the New Partnership for Africa's Development, the socio-economic renewal programme of the African Union. South Africa's exchange rate makes it one of the least expensive countries in which to do business - particularly one with a first-world infrastructure and high living standards. The rand exchange rate still makes commercial and residential property, quality hotels and restaurants inexpensive by world standards. South Africa's energy costs are also among the lowest in the world. Eskom supplies most of Africa with electricity, and is known for its superior supply quality. South Africa's unit labour costs are significantly lower than those of other key emerging markets, including Mexico, Hungary, Malaysia and Singapore. In addition, recent years have seen a surge in the country's labour productivity.

How can India and South Africa benefit from each other in terms of Trade Exchange?
Hospitality, Power and IT - that's what we want to get from India. We have several companies which organize students' exchange and we have fifth batch of students in Hyderabad that have recently come from South Africa. There's lots happening in terms of students' exchange. On the other hand, we also want students from India to go to South Africa as we have world class universities especially in the field of medicine and engineering. In fact, the first ever heart transplant in the world took place in a hospital in Cape Town.

Our mission here is to establish connectivity- connectivity of institutions to institutions, people to people, organizations to organizations-not just government to government, which again is driven by the highest possible government in our country-the Presidency. So it really is the focus of our government and we identify India as one of the countries that can assist us, because there is so much from India that you can learn not just on rural development which is a key aspect but also the IT - the students and their IT skills here and call centers. We want people to come to South Africa and set up call centers. We admire India for its entrepreneurship and with the call centers that help drive the economy, we want the support for that.

On the other hand, South Africa has the best practice of Wildlife and Tourism and we have organized programs for the Ministry of Finance, Forestry and Tourism who came down to South Africa from India to learn and understand the wildlife, the game ranges and the things we do with eco tourism. They came back and signed MOUs and we are sure both India and South Africa can learn a lot by sharing expertise between the two nations. There is enormous potential of partnerships between the two countries and although we are in two different continents there is so much similarity in the way of thinking and working that for me it is like doing business here is really about doing business at a home away from home. The people, their understanding we share a lot in common and Indians in South Africa are also playing an important role in developing business groups not only with emerging markets in India but also in Brazil on the other side of the continent.

How are you gearing up for the major sporting events later this year as well as the 2010 FIFA World Cup which will be hosted in South Africa?
We are geared up for the 20 Twenty World Cup Cricket later this year and we are also hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup which is going to be a huge event. The IMC - International Marketing Council is here in India to work with SA Tourism and the Consulate's Office to facilitate the visa processing especially for 2010 which is going to be a major event. We are looking at ways in which to facilitate the 20-20 cricket tournament, especially the visa area which is one major area which we have to gear up to and it's a major challenge for us. We are looking for extra staffing and we were talking to people and we need systems- workable systems of how we can look at the people going and the nodal areas. I'll give you an example- we had the last cricket tour in November last area in South Africa and we had a lot of media people and journalists and ordinary people all wanting to go to South Africa. So we had a system where you could get your visas- all you had to do was to get a letter of permit from the South African cricket board inviting you and the passport and we ensured that the visa would be expedited promptly. Normally it takes 9 to 10 working days as individuals but as a group we could give them special attention. Some of them got their visas in 2 or 3 days, and we were very accommodating. So we are geared for that and we need inputs as well from the Indian Community as to what else can be done and how else can we improve the system. So it's all about communication and the Consulate as well as the High Commission can allocate persons for specific groups who wish to go for these special events.

From the trade perspective, we need India to help to participate in making 2010 possible and help us. There are so many projects especially in construction - for building the stadiums and especially tourism and connectivity. India is so good in that area and you are also good in IT as well as having a large network of call centre hubs. So we are looking at India helping us with that in a very big way.

What kind of growth have you seen in the area of Tourism?
As mentioned earlier, last year we had a growth of 17% and this is indeed amazing especially as the highest growth in tourism to South Africa has been from India and the growth this year too has been very encouraging. Events like the 20 Twenty World Cup and encouragement given to Bollywood to shoot movies in South Africa has also led to greater awareness of what our country has to offer in terms of tourism. The initiatives taken in tourism led by Lance Littlefield, the Country Head for Tourism along with the support of the Consulate and the High Commission has ensured that there is greater awareness with in country familiarization trips being organized twice a year and there are tour operators from India as well as South Africa meeting and exchanging notes as well as packages and within that we have regular workshops being organized. Besides tourism, art, culture and fashion too bring the two countries together.

We have fashion designers going from India to South Africa and at the Lakme India Fashion Week, designers from South Africa had the opportunity to display their creative work. So whether there is fashion or entertainment in the creative industry or even matters concerning sports, there are several opportunities.

It's not just price but also the kinds of experiences as is highlighted in the recent tourism campaigns especially thru billboards and creating awareness with captions like "East meets West" or "Mumbai meets Jo'burg Chic" and similar teaser campaigns to highlight what we share and have in common and inviting people to visit South Africa and also to emphasize what we have in common between the two nations.

What are the areas of expertise that one can avail of from South Africa?
The opportunities to gain are enormous especially in infrastructure development. Currently, a South African company is involved in a joint venture in modernizing the Mumbai airport. So infrastructure is the area in which we can help particularly as well as in other areas like power. We've got the coal -you need the coal in India and we also have the technology of converting that into energy. So in that area South Africa has a great level of expertise and can help the Indian businessmen and even the Indian government in the best practice of power usage. We have energy power for instance, wind power, gas - so India can come to South Africa and explore this power. Right now we know that South Africa has the resources, the raw materials, we've got diamonds, copper, gold and platinum and India has got the expertise so now we have to help each other on value addition- India can help us in diamond cutting and grading as we already have cutting and grading in South Africa . At the same time we can help India in the value addition of their products like grapes.

We've got the best wine making in South Africa. So we have people going to Nashik and other states and helping in the technology for setting up the vineyards. So that is how we help in value addition in the agro processing and agro sector, mines and minerals besides IT as well. So there is energy, infrastructure and value addition in areas of agro-processing basically. And the new area includes financial services. We have more and more banks coming in from South Africa to set up in India- the FirstRand Bank is here and there are many other banks which are also having dialogues to invest in the financial sector. There are many services that can facilitate trade between the 2 countries such as the gold trade which can be direct with South Africa without involving a third country.

Have you personally seen any of the Indian movies?
I've watched Indian movies. I used to watch lots when I had more time. I love the dancing but sometimes they dance over and over again- it's too long. In those 3 hours they could have produced 2 beautiful movies. But I just love the message they have, the story, the values. I think it is good for family viewing. You don't have to shy away when you see some funny scenes. So it's different. We also have Anil Kapoor as one of the brand ambassadors for South Africa. There is so much talent here even in regional movies. I would love if Rajnikant would be one of the brand ambassadors from the South.

And on the subject of movies, I would like to add that one of the famous South African comedians Leon Schuster who plays Mr Bones is going to shoot a sequel to his hit film in India. The film producer is Anant Singh and Mr Bones is very popular back home with Indian audiences, both in theatres and on TV, and his films have also been dubbed into Hindi and other local languages in South Africa. There is a Mr Bones series on television and it is quite funny. Schuster is a white South African who gives himself different colours and does a candid camera performance. Probably the movie may be called Indiana Bones !!

The Twenty 20 World Cup Cricket is next month in South Africa. What initiatives will be taken to handle the large number of people expected to travel during this mega event?
We are looking at contingency travel in order to address the traveller . We have to talk to the Indian people - the key players to see what is the volume of people expected. It's obvious there is a huge volume so we need to organize this how we can address the travelling there- be it the media groups, the sports people including the spectators. So that is what we are going to discuss with the key players - ourselves the South African Consulate, the South African High Commission, South African Tourism, the International Marketing Council for South Africa as well as South African Airways, combined with our partners we intend compiling a database and see how can we address that. We are going to look at the tourists who want to go to South Africa, the business people who want to travel during this period as well as the members of the media. We had a bit of practice during the last Cricket World Cup which was a huge success but now we are going to learn from that and there were a few pitfalls there and we will want to overcome the problems we had during that period. At the same time, we need cooperation from the people in India -for some of the people who come at the last minute, it is not possible or practical to issue visas due to the large volumes. Hence, we need co-operation from our partners in India. This in a way will be the step in the right direction whilst moving forward to the 2010 FIFA World Cup which is going to be a huge event. South Africa is known for the BIG FIVE in terms of Game Viewing.

What do you think are the big 5 attractions that should not be missed by travellers from India?
You know traditionally Indians have been going to areas like the Sun City, Cape Town, the Wine Tours, the Garden Route for spectacular views and some of them go to Kimberley for diamonds. Then there is Kruger which is our main attraction for game viewing and Johannesburg for its huge shopping malls. So these are some of the popular places that people visit. There are several other popular places that people haven't explored yet. There are beautiful beaches in Durban as well as the aqua marine shows and you can swim with the sharks. The serenity of the beaches even around the Eastern Cape is simply stunning. Then in the Cape, we have the beer heritage tour for people who love their beer. There are heritage walks and we can show you how beer is made as you go along the beer trail. For adventurers we have bungee jumping and there is lot of adventure tourism including hiking. There are several attractions.

And which is your preferred destination within South Africa?
I was born in Eastern Cape, I grew up in Swaziland which is an independent kingdom and I schooled in Natal where my parents were born as well and I worked in Gauteng. I have been in all regions and there is no region that I don't like. For people from India, I want to tell them to explore Natal more and we had the Mayor of Durban here last year and he did mention that he wants to open up the Kwa-Zulu Natal region for tourism and there is lot of potential in and around this region. Durban is not just to see Indians which are indeed in large numbers, but there are beautiful beaches especially around the Ballito area. Then there is the Valley of the Thousand Hills between Durban and Pietermaritzburg which is spectacular and you see mountains just laid like a carpet. You have various tourist routes which you can take to explore this wonderful region. Natal is also famous for its arts and craft especially the bead work, the sculptures and carvings from the Durban area are well known across the world.

Each bead of the bead work has its significance. Each bead tells a different story. If a Zulu maiden gives a man a bead of a particular colour, each colour signifies something. There is so much of history and messages of love that we potray in our tapestry, on the Zulu hat and there are plenty of arts and souvenirs that you can take back home for your near and dear ones.