Johannesburg: South African government has decided to confer Order of the Companions of O R Tambo , one of its highest civilian awards, on late diplomat and former Indian Defence Minister V K Krishna Menon. The award is given in recognition of non-South Africans contribution in the struggle against apartheid and to restore a democratic society in the country.

Announcing this at a breakfast meeting with a team of visiting Indian journalists, Dr Essop Pahad, Minister in the Presidency, said Menon, who founded the India League in the thirties, had assisted the struggle for South Africa's liberation for two decades. His sustained efforts gave momentum to the anti-apartheid struggle. Even when he was not a minister in the Nehru cabinet, Menon had been deeply involved in assisting the South African movement, he said.

Earlier O R Tambo awardees include Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Kofi Annan, Ramesh Chandra, former UN diplomat. A special committee selects the awardees and recommends to the President. The relatives of Menon would be invited here to receive the award on April 22,he said. Pahad said relations between Congress movement in India and the African National Congress goes back to the time when Mahatma Gandhi landed in South Africa. The relations grew when Jawaharlal Nehru was Prime Minister.

The relation between the two countries had always been strong and currently there are huge opportunities and potential for trade between the two countries. Unless developing countries forge economic ties, it was difficult to build a relationship, he said.

Source : PTI