Pretoria - South Africa should maintain the momentum to increase trade and investment with Angola, says Madileke Ramushu, the South African foreign economic representative in Angola.
In his assessment of the participation of over 24 South African companies in the 32nd Feira Internacional de Angola (FILDA) international trade fair, Ramushu said he had seen bilateral economic relations between SA and Angola expanding significantly during his four years as an economic representative in Angola.
The South African companies were exhibiting their wares at FILDA with the help of the Department of Trade and Industry (dti).
The trade fair, which kicked off on Tuesday, concluded on Sunday.
Ramushu said that South Africa’s participation in FILDA has been growing in importance since the country’s first participation in the trade fair in 2012.
“This was after the two governments have realised that the popular international trade show was one of the perfect platforms that we could utilise to increase trade between the two countries.
“The kind of attention that the companies that exhibited this year attracted is evident that as a country we need to maintain or increase the momentum.
“I am confident that the huge number of people who visited our pavilion and witnessed what our companies can offer will translate into concrete deals, orders, partnerships and joint ventures,” explained Ramushu.
Ramushu said there is still an unlimited amount of groundwork that needs to be covered by businesspeople from the two countries working together to explore the myriad of opportunities that the two economies offer.
He added that his office, which is part of the South African embassy in Angola, worked tirelessly with the dti to market the participation of South Africa in FILDA.
“Our participation was marketed well through the Angolan media this year. The results of the efforts were reflected in the throngs of trade fair visitors who flocked to our pavilion throughout the duration of the fair,” said Ramushu.
He identified construction, automotive, energy, rail transportation and agri-business as some of the most viable sectors that offer unlimited opportunities for South African companies in Angola.
“At the moment, everybody who is in Luanda can bear testimony to the fact that the area resembles a construction site. There are developments everywhere. Residential estates, roads, offices and apartments are being constructed in many areas of Luanda.
The country is also hard at work with the development of the Lobido Corridor where the construction of a railway line connecting the port of Benguela in the south of the country with the port of Maputo in Mozambique is being constructed in order to facilitate trade in the region,” said Ramushu.
Bilateral trade between South Africa and Angola stood at almost R25 billion in 2014. - SAnews.gov.za
