The Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms Elizabeth Thabethe’s mission to increase trade and investments between South Africa and Angola began in earnest yesterday when she held a meeting with the Angolan National Private Investment Agency (ANIP) in Luanda yesterday. Thabethe arrived in Angola yesterday where she is leading a group of 33 South African business people who are participating in the 30th International Fair of Luanda Trade Exhibition, popularly known as FILDA, which opened its doors to the public yesterday and will be running until Sunday.
In a meeting with ANIP administrator, Mr Jose Chinjamba, Thabethe said South Africa recognised and appreciated the critical role that investment promotion agencies from Angola and South Africa can play in ensuring that trade agreements between the two countries were implemented effectively. This, she said, would be mutually beneficial to both countries as trade and investments would increase, thereby contributing to the economic growth of the two countries.
“We view entities like ANIP as critical and strategic partners that we can collaborate with in order to stimulate trade and investment between the two countries by exchanging information and sharing ideas and expertise. We have good relations as countries and we can make use of this to assist our business people explore these relations to their benefit so they can contribute meaningfully in further increasing trade between our countries, as well as intra-Africa trade within the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and the rest of Africa,” said Thabethe.
Chinjamba said it was in the interest of his institution in particular, and Angola in general for closer working relations to be fostered between the DTI and ANIP, which is the inward investment development agency of the Angola Ministry of Trade.
“We as ANIP are tasked with the responsibility of attracting investors to Angola and providing them with all the assistance they require. Numerous big South African companies are already investing in Angola. These include Shoprite, Nampak and Standard Bank. We would like to assist more of your companies to come and invest in Angola as opportunities for trade and investment between the two countries are unlimited.
South African companies investing here can testify to that as they are already expanding their businesses. Also, Angola can benefit quite significantly from South Africa’s technological advancement and potential areas of cooperation and collaboration in this regard are numerous,” said Chinjamba.
Thabethe and Chinjamba agreed on further interaction between ANIP and Trade and Investment South Africa, a division of the DTI, with the aim of identifying areas of possible collaboration and establishing formal partnership through a Memorandum of Understanding.
Thabethe, who will officially open the South African Pavillion at FILDA today, extended an invitation to ANIP to attend the Africa Dialogue Investment Conference that will be hosted by the DTI in Johannesburg in October.
Enquiries:
Sidwell Medupe, departmental Spokesperson
Tel: 012 394 1650
Cell: 079 492 1774
E-mail: MSMedupe@thedti.gov.za
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