PRETORIA, July 26 (ANA) – The trade and investment mission by a 20-member South African business delegation to Zambia had revealed the countless mutually beneficial business opportunities that existed between the two countries, the department of trade and industry (dti) said on Wednesday.
Director of Export Promotion at the dti, Seema Sardha, said: ““We are intimately linked with our partners on the continent, hence we ensure that our developmental agendas are interwoven as this relates to market integration as well as industrialisation.”
Sardha was speaking during the conclusion of the two-day mission that ended in Lusaka, Zambia. The participation of the 20 companies was funded by the dti.
“We need to strengthen our comparative advantages and focus on the implementation commitments made through the Memorandum of Understanding on Economic Cooperation signed between our countries,” said Sardha.
In addition, Sardha said that companies needed to take a long-term view, especially when it came to undertaking business exercises in Africa.
“It is imperative that the private sector advances the commitments made by President Edgar Lungu during the state visit to South Africa last year, towards realising the establishment of regional value-chains and manufacturing capabilities on the continent as outlined in Agenda 2063 and Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap,” she said.
The mission enabled South African companies to interact with leading private sector entities from agro-processing, agri-business; infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, energy, services, tourism infrastructure development and mining and capital equipment. It also presented a platform for SA companies that would like to export value-added products, and form joint-venture partnerships in Zambia to engage with their counterparts.
The mission went further by identifying the need to create much needed partnerships towards addressing the structural challenges relating to poverty, unemployment and inequality.
– African News Agency (ANA)
