Minister Brown to visit Pakistan this week
Minister of Public Enterprises Lynne Brown will undertake a working visit to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan from 1 November to 3 November 2017 on the invitation of Pakistan’s Minister of Defence Production, Mr Rana Tanveer Hussain.
The purpose of the visit is to explore the potential for cooperation between South Africa’s state-owned arms and defence manufacturer, Denel, and Pakistani companies and its defence force.
Denel has a hard-won global reputation for innovation and invention in the sector; it is ranked among the world’s Top 100 arms manufacturers.
South Africa and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan have maintained diplomatic relations since 1994. Former President Nelson Mandela visited Pakistan in 1999 and there have been regular high-level engagements between the countries.
Bilateral trade between South Africa and Pakistan is on an upward trend, growing from ZAR 2.5B illion in 2016 to ZAR 8 Billion in 2017.
“We are very grateful to the Honourable Minister of Defence Production, Mr Rana Tanveer Hussain, for this opportunity to explore the potential to further deepen the relationship between our countries,” Minister Brown said.
Minister Brown will lead a delegation to Pakistan that includes the Director- General in her department, Mr Mogokare Richard Seleke, Denel’s Chief
Executive Officer, Mr Zwelakhe Ntshepe, and senior Department and Denel officials.
Apart from her meetings with Mr Hussain, the delegation will visit various strategic sites for discussions on potential future cooperation between Denel and the Pakistani Defence Force.
Mr Ntshepe, who has been at Denel for 21 years, was officially appointed CEO last week after acting in the capacity. As Acting CEO he spearheaded Denel’s quest to develop new international markets and partnerships, and has been credited with growing Denel’s order book to ZAR 19 Billion.
Denel is the largest manufacturer of defence equipment in South Africa, operating in the military aerospace and landward defence environment. It is an important defence contractor both domestically and internationally.
It is a key supplier to the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and for the overhaul, maintenance, repair, refurbishment and upgrade of equipment in the Defence Force’s arsenal.
Internationally, Denel supplies systems and consumables to end users, as well as sub-systems and components to its industrial client base. The company has concluded and successfully manages a number of equity partnerships, joint ventures and cooperation agreements with renowned players in the global defence industry.
For enquiries contact:
Colin Cruywagen
Cell: 082 3779916
Richard Mantu
Cell: 072 4881520
