KZN ready to welcome Indian Prime Minister Modi

Modi is on his first state visit to South Africa, which is one of the legs of his African tour. He met with President Jacob Zuma in Pretoria yesterday before attending a rally in his honour at the Dome in Johannesburg last night. 

This morning he is expected to open the Gandhi Museum in Pietermaritzburg, visit Phoenix, north of Durban and later join King Goodwill Zwelithini and Premier Willies Mchunu for a reception at Durban City Hall. 

Lucy Sigaban, from the SA Welcomes Modi Organizing Committee, explains the importance of Modi's visit to the country.

"His visit is critically around energy, around investment. For the first time a foreign leader has come to this space and he has had the ability to merge three continents together," she said. 

"He is a visionary in the ilk of Mahatma Gandhi as well as Nelson Mandela," Sigaban added.

Addressing a huge crowd of mainly South African and expat Indians at the TicketPro Dome in Johannesburg last night, Modi said South Africa and India can achieve much more together. 

"India and South Africa are strategic partners from agriculture to healthcare;  from culture to Commerce; from tradition to trade; from industry to institutions; from investment to information technology; from mining to manufacturing," he said.

Some people who attended the eventsay they have been left inspired by his speech.

One person said: "Modi is really inspirational and has a lot of bright and ideas and I think he is going to make a huge impact on our society".

Another person said: "The Prime Minister's speech was very nice. It was an eye-opener for all South African youth. 

While another person said: "When it comes to the future, I think he has thought about it and has it planned out and it just seems like he knows what he is doing".

(Photo: Twitter)