South African Airways Acting Group CEO Matshela Seshibe (left), India Consulate General Shri S Koventhan and Consul (Commerce) Shri Harish Kumar.
JOHANNESBURG: The growing strategic and economic partnership between India and South Africa is running up against a stubborn obstacle: geography.
Despite nearly US$19 billion in annual trade, a vibrant Indian diaspora in South Africa, and expanding tourism flows in both directions, travellers and businesses still rely on third‑country hubs to move between the two nations.
However, the Consulate General of India in Johannesburg Shri S Koventhan believes it is time to change all that.
Koventhan, accompanied by Consul (Commerce) Shri Harish Kumar, recently met with South African Airways (SAA) senior management led by Acting Group CEO Matshela Seshibe. The message was clear: restoring direct air connectivity between India and South Africa is no longer a matter of convenience, but of strategic necessity.
