President congratulates South African President Zuma

Pranab-MukherjeeNew Delhi, May 19 : President Pranab Mukherjee has congratulated South African President Jacob Zuma on his re-election, the President's Secretariat said in a release here Monday.

"Heartiest congratulations on your re-election as the President of the Republic of South Africa," the Rashtrapati Bhavan communique quoted the President as saying.

"Since the end of apartheid in South Africa, our bilateral relations have been expanding and are now characterized by our strategic partnership, complemented by the close cooperation that we have had in multilateral fora, including the UN, BRICS, IBSA", it added.

The African National Congress (ANC) has won a commanding victory in South Africa's general election with a majority of 249 seats in the National Assembly, which secured President Zuma a second term.

South Africa is currently the chair of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) grouping and along with India and Brazil makes up the IBSA formation.(IANS)