Pretoria - International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane is in Accra today, where she will co-chair the 4th Session of the South Africa-Ghana Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation (PJCC).
The PJCC, which Minister Nkoana-Mashabane will co-chair with her counterpart, Hanna Serwaah Tetteh, will discuss regional, continental and multilateral issues of mutual interest.
The PJCC is aimed at strengthening bilateral relations and cooperation between the two countries in the fields of trade, transport, tourism, agriculture, customs/revenue services, mining, energy, environment, science and technology, communications, arts and culture, health, youth and sports, education, public works, immigration, justice and defence.
“The 4th Session of the PJCC will also provide an opportunity for both sides to further identify and explore more mutually beneficial areas of cooperation,” the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) said on Friday.
Ghana is a strategic partner for South Africa and is her second largest trading partner in the West African region. The West African country presents a key growth market for South African goods and services, as well as an investment destination for South African companies.
To date, there are more than 61 registered South African companies operating in Ghana, which include, amongst others, MTN, AngloGold Ashanti, Goldfields, Shoprite, Woolworths, Game, Group Five, Stanbic Bank, SABMiller, Engen, Hytec Engineering, Afripa Telecom, African Explosives Limited, Alliance Media, Steeledale, Sherwood, Steers, SAA, 3M South Africa, and Multichoice.
Over the period 2011-2015, total trade of goods was R33.3 billion, with exports valued at R17.9 billion and imports valued at R15.4 billion. South Africa registered a trade surplus of R2.5 billion over the period 2011-2015. - SAnews.gov.za
