India is keen to invest in mining ventures in Africa, encouraging investments in the

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sector in the country, Special Secretary (Mines) Vijay Kumar told delegates at the Mining Indaba here.

Kumar was part of a CII delegation at the conference, attended by leading mining industry and government officials from across the continent.

He said that India's need for metallic minerals is likely to increase significantly over the next few years.

With the consistent growth of India's GDP at 7 per cent and more for the past several years, mineral resources sector was booming along with industrial growth, fuelled by strong internal demand.

Apart from investment opportunities abroad, the Special Secretary said India also invited inward investment in exploration opportunities, especially in base metals, diamonds and noble metals.

The new Indian National Minerals Policy encourages foreign direct investment in exploration and mining.

The Indian industry representatives said they had already established a significant and multi-disciplinary presence in South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, but there was still a need to address some issues to grow this further.

Indian representatives expressed hope that bilateral discussions would be taken forward to expand cooperation in this sector during a VVIP visit planned from South Africa to India in the year ahead