India’s External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj, reached Johannesburg on Sunday evening is on a five-day visit to South Africa.

Her visit to the African country is highly significant as it marks the 25 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and South Africa.

Her arrival is timeous as it highlights two very important occasions; the 125th anniversary of Gandhi’s Pietermaritzburg railway station incident & the 100th birth centenary of Nelson Mandela. 

During the visit, Swaraj is expected to have meetings with the top leadership of South Africa, participate in the BRICS Foreign Ministers Meeting on June 4 and chair the IBSA Foreign Ministers Meeting, a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on June 2 read.

During her visit, the EAM, on June 6, will visit the Phoenix Settlement, a South African Heritage site, a place where Mahatma Gandhi developed his philosophy of non-violence.

She would also participate in a series of events at Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, on June 6-7 to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the “historic incident in the train compartment that became a catalyst for Gandhiji’s Satyagraha movement.”