 India. A country with a rich civilizational history, which incorporates a wide variety of diverse peoples and cultures. For long a controlled economy, India is now liberalizing and opening its doors to foreign investment. At the same time, it is charting out a new course based on its skills in the information technology sector. South Africa, a diverse land with a multitude of cultures, traditions and races emerging after decades of darkness into a new era of democracy to claim its rightful place in the world. A country with a first world infrastructure, South Africa too is an economy in transition from being reliant on commodities like gold to more manufactured and value added goods. For decades, because of apartheid, this land was closed to many outsiders, including Indians. With a democratic transition in 1994, South Africa began attracting visitors in large numbers. South Africa's natural beauty and its culture make it a popular destination for Indians too. For many decades, India had closed its doors to South Africans, but in recent years, more and more South Africans have been coming to India to see the wonders of this ancient civilization for themselves. Some visitors have more than just sightseeing on their minds. The UB Group first bought out Mabula Lodge, a game reserve on the outskirts of Pretoria. With its vast range of wildlife, Mabula is among the boutique lodges that dot the country and has made a name for itself at the high end. The UB Group is not the only prominent Indian business house that has made a foray into South Africa in recent years. The opening up of South Africa has drawn other prominent Indian players too. Among them is the House of Tartars, who have been in Africa for many years and for whom South Africa was the natural choice as the regional headquarters for their businesses. The Tartars assemble vehicles in the country which have found acceptance among South Africans and they are looking at other, newer areas of investment like information technology. This is proving to be a driver of the rapidly developing bilateral relationship between India and South Africa. From the small scale sector to big business, both countries are discovering that there are a wide range of possibilities for economic cooperation between them and synergies that can and should be exploited. A partnership can grow our strength in systems integration for mining and engineering projects and project development could be complemented with India's much more general strength in IT and software development. Many of the world's biggest mining companies are based in South Africa. Among them, Debears, a gigantic conglomerate which has an old relationship with India. India is a vital link in the diamond processing chain, but glittering diamond begins its journey as a humble piece of rough earth mined in Africa and elsewhere. The rough diamonds next destination is India, where they are finely cut by skilled young craftsmen in the back streets of Mumbai and Surat. Another area of business where South African products have made a foray into India is the defense sector. South Africa's defense industry has provided ammunition, electronics and other items to India consolidating the relationship even further. India which is emerging as one of the biggest economies in the world is a key player in several regional and international multilateral bodies like the non-aligned movement and both are founder members of the Indian Ocean Rim which links countries which border the majestic Indian Ocean. The IOR promises to integrate several economies, many of them at similar stages of development. The South African government sees economic growth as a key to improving the quality of life of its citizens. Towards this goal it hopes to link up with other economies like India so that they contribute to not only their own but also to each other's development.