Pretoria - Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe has described his two-day working visit to the United Kingdom as a success.
Motlanthe, who concluded the visit on Thursday, met a number of investors, analysts and business representatives where he made South Africa's position on a number of issues clear.
"Where there may have been concerns about certain issues surrounding the mining industry in our country, we managed to address these and are leaving with a sense that there is no trepidation about continued investment in mining," the Deputy President said.
Motlanthe kicked off his visit by addressing a post 2010 FIFA World Cup media briefing where he spoke about the social and economic benefits for South Africa that flowed from the country's hosting of the tournament.
He also spoke about the lessons the country has learnt from hosting the World Cup, for example, large-scale project management, delivery of bulk infrastructure within agreed timelines and improved policing.
These, he said, will remain a legacy and a learning platform on how government can deliver services efficiently and with minimum turnaround times.
The Deputy President also met his counterpart, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and the two expressed the desire to actualise the commitment to double trade between the two countries by 2015.
Motlanthe highlighted the enthusiasm on the South Africa part to double trade on all economic sectors.
The meeting with Clegg was the first at this level with the new coalition government and the Deputy President described the reception as warm.
Motlanthe and that the UK government showed a keen interest in strengthening relations with the government of South Africa.
The highlight of the Deputy President's visit was his address this morning at the Economist Summit on Emerging Markets where he articulated Africa's position as a strongly emerging region worthy of foreign direct investment.
Motlanthe was supported in this visit by Ministers of Finance Pravin Gordhan, Minerals Resources Susan Shabangu and the Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ebrahim Ebrahim.
Both the Deputy President and Minister Shabangu met investors in the mining sector and emphasised that South Africa is committed to an efficient, fair and transparent business environment, including security of tenure and the processing of mining licenses.
He described the mining sector as critical and a "continued backbone of the South African economy".
