India is expected to extend a $10 million credit to South Africa at the fifth joint commission meeting of the two countries that begins in Pretoria on Thursday.

External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha is leading the Indian delegation at the meeting of the joint commission, which will review the whole gamut of relations between the two countries, B.B. Harrison, India's deputy high commissioner, said in Durban on Wednesday.

A $10 million credit line from the Export-Import Bank of India was also expected to be signed with the ABSA Bank of South Africa during the meeting, she said.

Sinha, who is accompanied by about a dozen top government officials, will be arriving in Pretoria on Thursday for talks with his South African counterpart, MS Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

The joint commission meeting is expected to concentrate on topics such as commerce and industry, chemicals and fertilisers, information and technology, tourism and mining.

Officials from the National Thermal Power Corporation are also participating in the two-day meeting.

The last joint commission meeting was held in New Delhi in March this year.

On the Indian side, great importance is attached to strengthen the historical and active ties between the two countries.