Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms Elizabeth Thabethe says economic cooperation with Zimbabwe will contribute significantly to economic development and growth in the region and the rest of the continent. She was speaking at the Investment and Trade Initiative (ITI) business seminar that was hosted on Monday in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Deputy Minister Thabethe is in Zimbabwe, where she is leading a delegation of South African business people for the fifth ITI scheduled to take place in Harare and Bulawayo, from 14 to 18 October 2013. The objective of the ITI is to increase trade and investment between South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Thabethe emphasised that it was paramount to utilise the advantage of the countries’ geographical proximity to focus on targeted high growth markets. This should be done with the objective of creating investment and export opportunities for South African companies whilst simultaneously creating opportunities for Zimbabwean companies to partner with their South African counterparts to advance the export opportunities of Zimbabwean products,” she added.
Thabethe also said it was imperative that both countries capitalise on these ITIs to foster economic development for the rest of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) as this is a prerequisite for doing business with the rest of the world.
“Our continent’s trade and investment agenda is focused on supporting Africa’s economic integration and I believe that infrastructure development is vital for achieving this objective,” added Thabethe.
The Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Development in Zimbabwe Dr Samuel Undenge said it is pleasing to note that South African and regional investments in Zimbabwe are expanding.
“Zimbabwe is among the SADC countries that have put more effort on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) attraction in a bid to foster the recovery of its economy and enhance sustainable growth,” said Undenge.
Undenge further said Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPPA) that was signed in 2009 gives comfort to investors from the respective countries that their investment in either country would be safe from unilateral sequestration. Thabethe will lead the business delegation to Bulawayo on 16 to 18 October 2013 as part of the ITI.
FDI by South African entities in Zimbabwe between 2003 and 2012 amounted to approximately $619 million while inward FDI from Zimbabwe to South Africa amounted to approximately $154 million.
