S Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister, on Wednesday spoke to Naledi Pandor, his South African counterpart, who had assured him that the government was doing the most for the enforcement of law and order and for an early restoration of normalcy was their priority.
Jaishankar, who was on a visit to Tajikistan to attend key meetings of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, tweeted saying that he appreciated the conversation with Naledi Pandor, the South African Foreign Minister today. He added that Naledi Pandor ensured him that their government had been doing its best to enforce law and order and that the restoration of normalcy and peace was the overriding priority.
It had been said that Jaishankar had spoken to his South African counterpart and had an open conversation on the ongoing unrest in few parts of South Africa.
Sanjay Bhattacharya, Secretary of MEA, had a meeting with Joel Sibusiso Ndebele, the High Commissioner of South Africa to India.
It was assured by the South African side that their government was doing the most for the enforcement of law and order and also that early restoration of normalcy and peace was their overriding priority. They also expected the situation to improve soon.
President Cyril Ramaphosa on July 12, in his address to the Nation, said that with regard to the reports of arson and looting against Indians and Indian-origin South Africans, and the South Africa side mentioned those opportunistic elements which took advantage of the situation to engage in looting and violence. They also emphasized that the ongoing events were criminal in nature and not politically or racially motivated.
In South Africa, violence began the previous Wednesday, after the former president Jacob Zuma began his 15-month sentence service in the contempt of court case. Due to the riots, there have been 72 deaths in the country and over 1,200 arrests.
