Pretoria - South Africa and the United Arab Emirates have strengthened their trade relations by signing several memorandums of understanding on Friday.
Speaking during the event in Pretoria, International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana Mashabane said South Africa valued its relationship with the UAE, which its considered to be a very important partner in the Middle East.
UAE is South Africa's 24th largest export market with exports to the country more than those to countries such as Brazil, Canada and Russia.
" I would like to believe that this relationship is mutually beneficial as more than one hundred South African companies with representative offices in the UAE make a valuable contribution to the development of the UAE's economy," said Nkoana-Mashabane.
UAE's recently won the bid to host the head of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). In 2002, South Africa's exports to UAE were estimated at close to R2 billion and imports from the UAE being over R2.4 billion.
