India and the Southern African Customs Union have formalised their intentions with a terms of reference for a potential trade pact, aiming to deepen economic ties and expand market access across key sectors including pharmaceuticals, engineering, and agriculture.
India and the Southern African Customs Union have taken a formal step towards a preferential trade agreement, with both sides signing terms of reference that will guide the negotiations. The move is intended to deepen commercial ties and give each side preferential access in a relationship already built around trade in engineering goods, machinery, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, textiles, agriculture and agri-processing.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said the agreement should be balanced, fair and equitable, arguing that it could help both sides widen their markets and unlock new opportunities. He also said India could help supply affordable medicines to the SACU region and support skills development in information technology, while helping firms from Southern Africa connect more closely to global supply chains.
Goyal framed the talks as more than a purely commercial exercise, saying India’s ties with Southern Africa rest on a long partnership that goes beyond trade. He referred to India’s support for the region’s anti-apartheid struggle and said the relationship began with conscience rather than commerce, adding that only a final agreement would actually cut tariffs or speed cargo across borders.
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said this is India’s first terms-of-reference signing with an African regional bloc and described SACU as the world’s oldest customs union. He said the proposed pact would cover eight areas, including trade in goods, rules of origin, customs procedures, trade remedies, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, dispute settlement and broader legal provisions. The signing ceremony was attended by Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada and senior officials from both sides.
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