The Deputy Director General: Trade Branch at the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic), Ambassador Xolelwa Mlumbi-Peter, says South Africa and Angola are well positioned to capitalise on trade and investment opportunities that exist in both countries.
Mlumbi-Peter was speaking at a Business Forum hosted by South Africa and Angola in Pretoria on Thursday.
“Boosting intra-Africa trade has to be a core objective for both our countries. We need to identify what is produced in our countries, but also what we are importing from elsewhere, so that we can identify obvious products that can be traded among ourselves.
“Many economies globally are adopting strategic autonomy policies and are reconfiguring supply chains to bring them closer to home to promote economic resilience and address strategic vulnerabilities. Promoting intra-Africa trade has to be a strategic objective,” said Mlumbi-Peter.
She encouraged the private sector to identify opportunities for sourcing key inputs and products from each other to boost bilateral trade.
Speaking at the Forum, Chief Executive Officer of Business Unity South Africa, Khulekani Mathe, said as the South African business community, they recognised Angola as a vital market for their products.
He said the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), provides significant potential for expansion of trade between the two markets.
“The presence of South African companies in sectors such as mining, banking, retail, logistics, and food services underscores Angola's importance as an investment destination for South Africa to facilitate trade, we need to develop appropriate infrastructure.
“In addition to physical infrastructure, establishing and strengthening business organisations, such as chambers of commerce, is critical,” he said.
He added that the South Africa-Angola Chamber of Commerce was an important building block of trade infrastructure. He encouraged businesses from both countries to join and strengthen this organisation.
“Currently, both economies face challenges with weak growth, registering less than one percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in 2023.
“Another shared characteristic is our dependence on raw natural resources in our exports, which means that while we export our commodities, we are also exporting jobs to countries that transform these resources into finished products."
The President of the Angola-South Africa Chamber of Commerce, Paula Xavier, said as a chamber they once again called upon businesses from South Africa and Angola to create, strengthen and deepen businesses, partnerships and investments in favour of the multi-sectoral sustainability.
She said for this to be possible, a few essential elements were needed, namely; the alignment of the heads of state, the involvement of entrepreneurs in business partnerships and the cultural dream of people from both countries.
The Chief Executive Officer of Black Business Council, Kganki Matabane said the role of the two economies in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region were critical as the two countries have a strong partnership that includes trade and investment.
“Our role as partners is crucial in the implementation of the AfCFTA as we are poised to exploit the opportunities as key players within the region.
“At the crux of our respective economies is the need to improve livelihoods. Our bilateral interaction provides an opportunity to contribute not only to regional growth but growth of the global economy,” said Matabane.
He added that the most important opportunities that can be explored by businesspeople from both countries were the beneficiation of mineral resources and localisation, as they are important for job creation, and to promote sustainable development. – SAnews.gov.za
