South African President Ramaphosa congratulates PM Modi on his re-election

Johannesburg, Jun 10 (PTI) South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has commended Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his dedication and commitment to the people of India as he congratulated him on his election victory for the historic third term.

Ramaphosa also congratulated the people of India on exercising their democratic rights and participating in the electoral process, which took place in seven phases from April 19 to June 1.

The president in a statement issued on June 6 reaffirmed that South Africa and India share a strategic partnership.

Ramaphosa in the statement congratulated Prime Minister Modi on his re-election, "commending him for his dedication and commitment to the people of India".

He said that South Africa was looking forward to continuing working with India on matters of importance to the people of both countries.

Ramaphosa emphasised the importance of the two countries’ continued cooperation to promote the agenda of the Global South, notably the reform of the global system of governance, and to align positions in global fora in the interest of strengthening multilateral organisations.

South Africa continues to work well with India in the G20 and BRICS, he said.

Modi was very warmly received in South Africa when he was here for the BRICS Summit hosted in Johannesburg in August last year.

Ramaphosa’s congratulatory message came on the back of South Africa’s own elections a fortnight ago, which saw the African National Congress (ANC) lose its majority for the first time since Nelson Mandela led it to power in 1994 after the country’s first democratic elections.

The ANC garnered only 40 per cent of the vote, which led to Ramaphosa announcing last Thursday that negotiations would be started with other parties for a government of national unity, rather than coalition agreements with some parties. PTI FH SCY AKJ SCY SCY