UAE and South Africa explore avenues to enhance bilateral trade and investment opportunities across key sectors
High-level talks between the UAE and South Africa were conducted on Wednesday to expand potential for Investment and commerce between the two countries. The two sides also looked into ways to encourage growth in crucial industries including logistics, food production, tourism, and energy.
Ebrahim Patel, Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, and Pravin Jamnadas Gordhan, Minister of Public Enterprises, met with Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, who is leading a delegation of UAE government officials and business leaders. The two sides talked about ways to improve their relationship, encourage private sector engagement, create new collaborative ventures and programmes, and promote economic growth that would benefit both parties during the meeting.
Dr. Al Zeyoudi also had a meeting with South Africa’s Minister of Fisheries, Forestry, and the Environment, Barbara Creecy, to discuss the challenges of climate mitigation, private sector engagement, and the UAE’s hosting of COP28 in November and December, which aims to foster global agreement on these crucial issues.
Al Zeyoudi stated that the UAE is anxious to form alliances with countries that share its values in order to spur growth, bolster supply chains, and open up new investment avenues. The UAE is taking risky actions to rethink its economy in the face of global difficulties, and trade is essential to our goals of accelerating economic diversification, fostering long-term, sustainable growth, and luring new types of investment.
We are also leading the way in a new era of International Trade, promoting multilateralism and developing the use of technology to drive new efficiencies and enhance access to the global trading system,” Al Zeyoudi said.
South Africa has the potential to play a significant role in these initiatives, according to him, as the UAE’s second-largest trading partner in Africa, accounting for 8% of the nation’s overall non-oil trade with the region. I have personally witnessed the vibrancy of the private sector, and I understand the government’s aim to become the main hub for industry, energy, logistics, and services in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to Al Zeyoudi.
He claimed that the UAE’s Business Community is aware of the size of the opportunity and is prepared to collaborate to help emerging industry sectors, develop south-south trade routes, and increase bilateral trade substantially above the $6.5 billion we saw in 2022.
Dr. Al Zeyoudi was present for the signing of an agreement between the South African energy buyer Green Co, and Standard Bank to finance AMEA’s strategic investments into South Africa. The UAE minister also held meetings with top South African businesses involved in mining, infrastructure, artificial intelligence, food security, IT, IT, agriculture, renewable energy, and medical equipment.
