Pretoria - Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Mzwandile Masina will co-chair the second session of the South Africa-Hungary Joint Economic Committee that kicks off today in Budapest, Hungary.
The two-day meeting is a bilateral forum which meets biennially, alternately in South Africa and in Hungary, on dates mutually agreed upon by the co-chairs. The first session of the committee was held in South Africa in 2013.
The Deputy Minister said the committee has been tasked with reviewing the state of bilateral trade and investment relations between the two countries.
It is responsible for identifying potential areas of mutually benefit in trade and investment, cooperation in the small and medium enterprise development, skills development, integration of the black industrialists in the Hungarian global value chain as sub-contractors, and also for discussing other policy issues of common interest.
“The two countries are expected to assess the state of bilateral trade and investment flows since 2014. High on our agenda will be the National Development Plan, update on the new Protection of Investment Act, as well as the investment policy,” said Deputy Minister Masina.
Hungary, he said, presents opportunities for growing trade and investment for South Africa.
South Africa’s total exports destined to Hungary increased significantly from R746 million in 2014 to R953 million in 2015.
This places Hungary, in terms of South African exports ranks, on the 69th position globally and 14th within the European Union. In contrast, South Africa ranked third as a supplier of goods sourced by Hungary from the African continent. – SAnews.gov.za
