Trade between India and South Africa has increased by 30 percent to 2.5 billion US dollars in the past year, Indo-Asian News Service reported Tuesday.

Both the joint ventures and investments have increased, said a statement released after the sixth meeting of the joint working group of India and South Africa concluded here Tuesday.

South Africa has seen the trade surplus this year as India has kept importing precious metals like gold, the statement said.

The bilateral trade is going to rise further as the Preferential Trade Agreement between India and the South African Customs Union, including Botswana, Lesotho and Namibia, will help boost the bilateral trade, the statement added.

On the meeting the two sides also signed a bilateral extradition treaty and an agreement on mutual legal assistance.

Source: Xinhua