CALCUTTA, July 20: International trade experts have urged the Indian business community to grab the opportunites in South Africa created by President Nelson Mandela's drive to better the lot of the black community.

D S Arora, an associate professor of the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), has recently submitted a paper on India's trade and investment opportunites in South Africa.

Arora noted that there is a vast scope for India to increase its exports and investments in South Africa. He has cited different factors which have opened the gates for the Indian to operate.

``Massive rehabilitation programmes have been taken up for the uplift of the Blacks. Moreover, the South African government has gone in for import substitution policies for export oriented growth. This has lead to larger import requirement,'' Arora clarified. In 1994, the South African government launched the reconstruction and development programme. This programme was aimed at overall economic development in the country with particular reference to the uplift of the poor. Initially, the government proposed to spend nearly Rand 40 billion ($11 billion) on this programme.

The primary target sector was housing but also included essential services like healthcare and education. After launching this programme, the Mandela government announced another set of plans on June 1, 1996, called GEAR -- growth, employment and redistribution strategy. This too, was aimed at overall economic, trade and social reforms.

The South African government has decided on uniform treatment to both the domestic and the foreign investors and it declared the `Investment South Africa' policy in February 1997.

International trade analysts noted that through this policy the South African government opened up for foreign investment, which in turn would create more jobs.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.