Pretoria - Trade and Industry (dti) Minister Rob Davies says the passing of former President Nelson Mandela is a great loss to the world at large.
Speaking at the 9th World Trade Organisation Ministerial conference in Bali, Indonesia, Davies said the conference would pay tribute to Madiba, who had previously addressed the 50th anniversary of the then General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT, which was a predecessor of the current World Trade Organisation (WTO)).
At the time of Mandela’s address in 1998, the former president stated that no amount of rules should be forced on people if there is no justice.
Mandela further spoke about a need for an outcome in multilateral trade negotiations that led to the poorest people in the world benefitting from the international trading system.
Business Unity South Africa (Busa) chief executive officer Nomaxabiso Majokweni said the business community has every reason to celebrate his contribution to the foundation of South Africa’s democracy, positive investment climate and re-introduction of country back into the world stage.
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) said Mandela had touched the lives of millions of people and will be sorely missed.-SAnews.gov.za
