Your Excellency Mr S Moloto
Your Excellency Ms M Modiselle
Your Excellency Mr M Makalima
Your Excellency Mr P Sifuba
The HOD of the Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism, Mr Dlamini
CEO’s of the various state agencies
Esteemed guests
Ladies and gentlemen
International trade is increasingly becoming highly uncertain and unpredictable. The World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Doha development round of trade negotiations was intended for the delivery of reforms needed to provide developing countries with trade opportunities commensurate with their development needs. Many of the opportunities are still to see the light of day.
The strict distributive strategy employed by the group of 20 emerging nations, to which South Africa belongs, is a clear refusal to make concessions harmful to them. The strategy is that the developing countries should not be expected to pay for the removal of agricultural subsidies with reductions of their industrial tariffs and with the removal of measures put in place to protect infant industries. This strategy demands that discussion of issues of non-agricultural market access (Nama) should be preceded by an agreement on agriculture.
This lack of agreement between developed and developing countries caused the Doha development round of trade negotiations to stall.
This makes it even of a greater importance now to create and strengthen strategic alliances more than before.
In our midst today we have Excellencies to whom we offer very warm Mpumalanga welcomes. We count on you to create new allies and open doors for us in the countries to which you have been designated.
We hope to increase trade where it exists, or to introduce ourselves where there is no interaction.
Trade normally precedes investment in most cases, but one is normally not too far behind the other. We must thus be on the lookout for opportunities all the time.
Wolfgang Grulke with Gus Silber wrote in their book on Radical Innovation that: “Relevance changes with the market, needs are never the same the second time round – you need to keep your mind actively open. Remember it’s like a parachute, it tends to work best when open.”
In order to maintain the sustainability of our initiatives in the global environment, we must continue engaging in geo-diplomacy. It is indeed good that as a country, South Africa plays an influential role in the geopolitics of the world by engaging the G8 and playing an active role in the G20. We have thus forged strategic relationships, trade alliances and trade blocks where we share common interests.
While membership to strategic alliances and affiliations results in economic benefits such as the access to technology, fixed investment and trade, infrastructure development, and most importantly credence, we must still guard against narrow self-interest geopolitics and other foreign neo-mercantilist strategies masquerading as genuine investment, charity and assistance to our continent.
There has not been much by way of diplomatic relations between South Africa and Equatorial Guinea, Trinidad and Tobago, and Palestine prior to 1994. It should therefore not be a surprise that there is minimal trade with these countries.
We hope to be able to use this opportunity of having the newly appointed Excellencies to look at possible opportunities. It is therefore salutary that you comrades had the presence of mind to come and learn about our province before going on your missions. This will put you in a position to market our province as you market the whole of South Africa. Tourism between the countries should be encouraged, and visa should be easily obtainable.
Both trade and investment, correctly so, will serve as the key tools for lifting us out of the poverty we currently experience.
Your Excellencies welcome.
I thank you.
