NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 14 The premier of South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province, home to the single largest community of migrant Indians in the world, is in the country to invite the UPA government to participate more qualitatively in its modernisation. And Delhi’s real incentive to direct investments and consolidate cooperation may be only partially based on sentiment—China already has a lucrative foot in KwaZulu-Natal’s door.

‘‘We already have deep relations with China. And this cooperation can be seen on the ground in our province. We grow their rice and mushrooms, both of which have become large industries,’’ Premier Sibusiso Ndebele said in an interview to The Indian Express today.

The Indian government has responded by opening all doors to Ndebele and promising a flurry of economic and business memoranda in the coming months to further consolidate mutual commercial prospects.

The business opportunities in KwaZulu-Natal on the south-eastern coast of South Africa are immense. In fact, a business delegation that accompanied Ndebele met senior executives of Tata Motors this afternoon to push discussions on a multi-million dollar deal for the province’s first public transportation system to be inaugurated next year.

KwaZulu-Natal, ostensibly the trade and commercial gateway to the South African subcontinent with two of Africa’s busiest ports, has already established deep relations with China, especially in agriculture.

And Beijing is already directing large investments into the province’s infrastructure and power sectors.

After the routine political meetings ahead of the centenary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi launching his Satyagraha next year, Ndebele will visit Chennai on December 19 to witness the point from which the first Indians left for South Africa in the mid-19th century.

The Tamil Federation of South Africa, which will donate houses to tsunami victims on the Tamil Nadu coast, has invited Ndebele for the event.

‘‘It would be fascinating to witness their port of exit. It has been a sharp learning curve for us dealing with successive governments in India, but I believe that it is now time for us to plan real cooperation in all possible fields. I am here for discussions on cooperation in heritage tourism, agriculture, small and medium industries, IT and trade,’’ Ndebele told The Indian Express soon after he met Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit who has agreed to attend the Satyagraha centenary celebrations in September next year and advise the provincial dispensation on women’s empowerment projects.