Pretoria- Bilateral relations between South Africa and Sweden will be underlined when the two countries meet later this week.
The Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Marius Fransman, will host his Swedish counterpart, Frank Belfrage, for bilateral discussions in Cape Town on Thursday.
“Bilateral relations between South Africa and Sweden have a deep historical basis and the upcoming bilateral meeting will assist in further consolidating the already strong relationship,” International Relations and Cooperation spokesperson Clayson Monyela said.
Sweden is one of the important investors in South Africa with more than 100 companies creating around 30 000 jobs in the country. During the period 2003 - 2013, Sweden invested in 14 projects in South Africa across a range of sectors with a total capital investment estimated at R2.04 billion, creating over 1 807 jobs.
A large percentage of Sweden’s investments were directed to the automotive, manufacturing, business services, design, development , marketing and support.
“Sweden is also an important export market for the South African wine industry with South Africa being the second largest exporter of wine to Sweden. In addition, Sweden is a source of long-haul tourism market for South Africa. In 2012 more than 40 000 Swedish tourists visited South Africa,” said Monyela.
Since 2000, relations between the two countries have been effectively managed through the Bi-National Commission (BNC) co-chaired at the level of Deputy President and Deputy Prime Minister.
The BNC covers the areas of foreign affairs, trade and investment, ICT, energy and vocational education.
The last BNC, held in October 2013, culminated in the signing of an amended agreement on cooperation in science, technology and innovation and the announcement by Sweden of 30 post–graduate scholarships for South African students. –SAnews.gov.za
