Why was it important for business leaders and other concerned citizens to have secret talks with the exiled ANC and the imprisoned Nelson Mandela?

The secret talks became the foundation for a peace settlement that included the unbanning of the ANC and the liberation of political prisoners, such as Mandela himself.

Explanation:

During the late 1980s, Mandela's established a series of secret talks with the African National Congress (ANC), the National Party, the Minister of Justice, representatives of the private business sector, and even the apartheid intelligence service to negotiate a peace settlement that would eventually lead to the end of apartheid.