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are complementary and synergistic. The most important foreign policy instruments for India and South Africa are what Paul (2005) called ‘economic strengthening’ and ‘entangling diplomacy’. Given the distance, strengthening transport links assumes importance for exploiting the full potential of trade and investments. The transportation sector presents opportunities for exchanging best practices and the energy sector is another pivotal area of cooperation spelled out. It must be noted that India is the world’s largest sugarcane producer. Solar energy and coal liquefaction are potential areas of further cooperation. Conclusion Given the complexities of contemporary world politics, with multilateral institutions increasingly relying on key developing states to work as “managers” of their respective regional contexts, the legitimacy and international recognition of the India and South Africa partnership depend to a large extent on strategic partnering and mutual cooperation. It is too soon to tell whether the great-power concert will succeed and as it proceeds, it may be simple to articulate but hard to execute. So the need is to keep the old friends close and new friends closer.  36 • India-South Africa • 2019 * The author is Professor, Namibia University of Science and Technology, & University of Pune, India; Email: neetajb@ rediff mail.com References: • Becker, D (2010). The New Legitimacy and International Legitimation: Civilization and South African Foreign Policy, Foreign Policy Analysis 6 (2), 138. • Brooks, S. G. & Wohlforth, W.C., (2005). Hard Times For Soft Balancing, International Security, 30(1), 72–108. • Huntington, S., (1999). The Lonely Superpower’, Foreign Aff airs, 78(2), 35–49. • Ikenberry, G. J & Wright. T., (2008). Rising Powers and Global Institutions. New York: The Century Foundation. • Nye, J. S., (2004). Soft Power. The Means to Success in World Politics. New York: Public Aff airs. • Paul, T.V. (2005). Soft Balancing in the Age of U.S. Primacy, International Security, 30 (1), 46–71. • Wohlforth, W. C., (1999). The Stability Of A Unipolar World’, International Security, 24(1), 5–41. • World Trade Organization (2008). World Trade Report 2008: Trade in a Globalizing World. Geneva: WTO