Without India's participation, his swearing-in would have been incomplete, South Africa's new president Jacob Zuma has told visiting Indian vice president Hamid Ansari.
Without India's participation, his swearing-in would have been incomplete, South Africa's new president Jacob Zuma has told visiting Indian vice president Hamid Ansari, indicating the warmth in bilateral ties.
Zuma, 67, who was inaugurated as the fourth democratically elected president of South Africa since the abolition of apartheid in 1994, thanked all those present for gracing the solemn occasion and told Ansari separately that his inauguration would not have been complete without the participation of India.
Felicitating Zuma on his assumption of the high office, vice president Hamid Ansari invited him to India.
Ansari, accompanied by his wife Salma, had an extended "pull aside" with Zuma during a luncheon for the visiting heads of state and other dignitaries, who were in South Africa to witness the inauguration ceremony in capital Pretoria.
"The vice president had a warm meeting with Zuma," Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Nalin Surie, said.
Ansari conveyed felicitations and good wishes from the people of India to the new South African president and invited him to visit the country, Surie said.
Describing Zuma's swearing-in ceremony as "very impressive", Surie said it was conducted in a "dignified manner". He also recalled the "dignified" speech made by Zuma in which he reached out to all countries which helped South Africa in its struggle against the former apartheid regime.
On bilateral relationship, Rajiv Bhatia, High Commissioner of India in South Africa, said there have been frequent high-level interactions between the two countries at least once a year.
In the past two-and-a-half years, prime minister Manmohan Singh had come here twice, he recalled. Zuma too had visited India twice in the recent years.
The vice president's visit here was the "significant continuation" of that, Bhatia said. "In the new era (under Zuma) our relationship will move forward."
Describing the Indo-South African ties as "very active and dynamic," Bhatia said exchanges in the fields of culture, art, tourism, including the ongoing IPL, have contributed to the ties and provided contemporary context to them.
Calling the Indian-origin people in South Africa a bridge between the two countries, he said they will be celebrating 150 years of their arrival in this country in 2010.
During his stay here, vice president Ansari also interacted with Sri Lankan premier Ratnasiri Wickremenaike and presidents of Gambia, Seychells and Comoros. Ansari also met his counterpart from the Philippines and former Zambian president.
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