By Neo Bodumela
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a “unique bloc” of countries that could serve as a market within which South Africa can expand and diversify its export markets and deepen strategic relations.
This according to Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Alvin Botes, who spoke to SAnews ahead of the ASEAN Summit and the East Asian Summit to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, this weekend.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to be a Guest of the Chair at the pivotal summit in a bid to strengthen South Africa’s economic and strategic engagements with the dynamic economic bloc.
“The ASEAN, as an economic bloc, has approximately 650 million people; it’s quite significant and key. We’re speaking about investment in emerging economies such as South Africa that finds expression (sic).
“If we look at what we call the ASEAN tigers -- such as Singapore, Malaysia and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam -- it’s all within the ASEAN group. It’s important for diversification,” Botes told SAnews.
The ASEAN Member States include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, which together boast a gross domestic product of some USD 3.8 trillion in 2023 and projected economic growth of some 4.2% in the face of global economic uncertainty.
According to the ASEAN website, two-way trade between South Africa and the bloc grew from some USD 10.56 billion in 2023 to some USD 11.21 billion in 2024, with tourism from South Africa to the region increasing steadily from 144 415 people in 2023 to 160 203 in 2024.
In 2023, South Africa was recognised as a Sectoral Dialogue Partner of ASEAN alongside countries including Brazil, Morocco and Switzerland.
“The fact that South Africa now is a sectoral dialogue partner to the ASEAN group bodes quite well for the expression of our own national interests.
“It’s a unique economic bloc for economic partnership [and] secondly, it’s an important economic bloc to unlock FDI [foreign direct investment] from South Africa’s FDI agencies into this bloc. What you have is relatively stable governance architecture within most of the group, so it’s quite compatible with our own ambitions,” Botes said.
Building relations
The President’s Working Visit to Malaysia is the final stop in a tour to Southeast Asia, which included State Visits to Indonesia and Vietnam.
“South Africa and Malaysia enjoyed exceptionally warm and dynamic relations in the decade following 1994, marked by close collaboration on multilateral platforms, such as the Non-Aligned Movement, South-South Cooperation and Dialogue Partnerships.
“The relations with Malaysia and by extension Southeast Asia and ASEAN, are of strategic importance to South Africa’s Foreign Policy,” the Presidency said in a statement earlier this week.
The relations serve as a portal to more dynamic markets.
“They offer a gateway to dynamic regional markets, emerging technologies and help reinforce South Africa’s position as a proactive and globally engaged partner in the Global South,” the Presidency said. – SAnews.gov.za
