Excellencies,
Captains of commerce and industry,
Ladies and gentlemen,
The interaction between government and the business sector is an important feature of the G20 forum.
I am pleased to join you for this summit in Seoul.
During the last G20 Business Summit forum, in Toronto, Canada, South Africa was in the midst of the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup.
We invited those amongst you who had not yet made plans to travel to South Africa for the tournament. I hope that some of you did go and experienced the vibrancy and excitement of the first ever African soccer world cup tournament.
It was an important landmark event for the continent. We were able to achieve quite a lot in one month.
We were able to prove that Africa can host a competition of that magnitude. We thank all nations of the world who provided support as they contributed a great deal to the marketing and positioning of the African continent.
We were also thrilled to be visited by many CEOs of major companies and dozens of Heads of State as well as so hundreds of citizens of the world. They were able to experience the warmth and hospitality of the South African people.
A survey found that one of the lasting impressions on visitors was the warm hospitality of South Africans.
You will recall the during the Toronto G20 Summit we were, without doubt, caught up in discussions of great consequence for the world.
However, it was possible to tell which soccer teams were playing by noticing which Heads of State or government were absent from the meeting room.
I cannot divulge who went missing and for how long. I also have to be discreet and not mention how they looked when they re-entered the room.
I admit that I was quietly thrilled about the impact of this event in South Africa on the world.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We have many interests in common and this meeting provides an opportunity for us as policy makers, and yourselves, the investors, to work further together to promote global growth and development.
I have taken note of the issues that your report highlights:
- You want a clear and enforceable regulatory environment.
- You want to avoid unnecessary impediments to private investment.
- You want to avoid regulatory systems that are too detailed and complex.
- You want a better understanding of the positive impact of foreign direct investment.
- And you would like an international agreement on a framework for investment.
The last point is a bit difficult to achieve, considering the diversity of the countries seeking foreign investment and the national interest of each country.
However, economic regions might work seriously towards a common approach to foreign direct investors.
At this stage, however, the world is too diverse for a common implementable code.
Nations face a range of development challenges.
Therefore, it could be risky to take the simplification or elimination of rules to the extreme.
However, we also need to make sure that the rules are well thought out, and to find a simple and transparent way of implementing them.
Ladies and gentlemen,
As you would be aware, Africa has come through the global crisis better than anyone expected. Most African countries continued growing relatively strongly.
Africa is the third fastest growing region after China and India.
The global economic crisis demonstrated two things about Africa’s readiness for growth. The first is that macroeconomic policies in most African countries have improved so much that they were able to ride through the crisis.
The second important factor is that Africa continued to grow becauseof the expansion of domestic demand.The continent’s one billion people are beginning to make an impact on the consumer markets.
When we consider the unexploited mineral wealth of Africa, the fact that Africa has 60% of the world uncultivated agricultural land, and that Africa has the youngest age profile of any continent, our continent’s growth potential is truly massive.
There is still much to do in Africa to ensure that we reach our potential. African economic integration is still at an early stage, but we are pushing it very hard. Regional integration is the lifeblood for investment and trade in Africa.
Secondly, we are building our continental infrastructure. South Africa has been assigned by the African Union to champion the building of Africa’s north-south rail and road links.
Other Heads of State and Government are championing other continent-wide African infrastructure programmes, within an agreed African Union approach.
We will be seeking partnerships with yourselves to take forward these focused programmes, falling within the ambit of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).
We have big plans for Africa’s development and should be able to succeed.
With regards to South Africa, to invest in the country’s development, we have set in motion a major infrastructure investment programme.
We are currently spending about 120 billion rand a year on electricity supply, roads, rail, harbours and other economic and social infrastructure.
We are also using this relatively slow period of growth to boost our capacity, so that we can better take advantage of global demand in future.
In this regard, we are improving the quality of our education, as well as skills and human resource development.
We are certain that as African governments and global businesses come to understand each other better and better, the mutually beneficial opportunities will expand faster than ever, for top quality investors, wherever they come from.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We look forward to a successful G20 Summit tomorrow.
During the past year, the G20 played a key role in responding to the global economic crisis.
The decisive and coordinated actions of G20 members helped to boost consumer and business confidence and supported the first signs of economic recovery, during a difficult period.
South Africa is committed to active participation and policy leadership within the G20.
Membership of the G20 affords us the opportunity to influence key policies relating to the global economy and to represent African concerns and interests in this key global forum.
We are honoured to chair the G20 development working group with South Korea and a lot of work has been done in preparations for this Summit.
Our strongly-held view is that the stated focus on development should be accompanied by concrete action on the part of the developed world, to implement previous undertakings of both the G8 and G20 summits relating to development.
We will also continue to highlight the reform of the International Financial Institutions to ensure that emerging markets and developing countries have greater voice and representation.
Last month, the G20 Finance Ministers agreed to overhaul the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to increase its role in managing the world economy and give emerging nations more say in how the organisation is run.
This is the biggest reform of the IMF governance since the institution was created in 1945.
This is the kind of progress we want to see going forward, in order to make the G20 forum truly meaningful for the developing world.
We also urge G20 members this week to put the interest of the global economy ahead of those of their national economies.
Leaders around the world must act to prevent the recent round of currency devaluations from turning into a global currency war.
We must collectively find an effective solution in the short term.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We come here with optimism that we will find each other on most issues as leaders, and move further towards the desired sustainable growth and development.
I thank you.
