EGYPT and South Africa are pushing hard to upgrade their bilateral trade relations, reports Nesma Nowar. Last week, President of the Republic of South Africa Jacob Zuma visited Cairo for the first time. He was in Egypt to inaugurate the Egyptian South African Business Forum which was held to facilitate economic cooperation between the two countries, and to offer business match-making opportunities for South African and Egyptian companies.
Zuma's visit also aimed to deepen economic relations between South Africa and Egypt. He called on businessmen to make use of opportunities in both countries to increase trade and investment.
He also highlighted common goals. "Our key strategic objective is the eradication of poverty and achieving economic prosperity," Zuma said during the opening session of the Egyptian South African Business Forum.
In all, 120 South African businessmen and 800 of their Egyptian counterparts attended the forum to explore cooperation opportunities in nine fields, namely construction and infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, finance, mining and energy, industrial development and innovation, tourism, agro-processing, automotion and information and communication technology (ICT).
Meanwhile, Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid was also looking to take the relationship even further. He called for the establishment of a free trade agreement (FTA) between the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the East African Community (EAC), the three major trading blocs in Africa.
Such an FTA would create a large free trade zone in Africa encompassing 27 countries. "The possibility of an FTA between the three blocks can help increase Africa's international profile as a whole by making investments in the three trading blocs particularly attractive for those wishing to access the entire African market," Rachid said.
Rachid's proposal was well received. "Egypt and South Africa are the two giant economies of the continent and closer economic ties could put us among the top 20 economies in the world," said South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Matie Nkoana Mashobane, adding that the idea would create opportunities for the whole continent.
Bilateral trade between Egypt and South Africa is currently quite small. It reached $158 million in 2009, with Egyptian exports to South Africa standing at $27.6 million and Egyptian imports from South Africa reaching $140.4 million.
According to Geoffrey Qhena, CEO of the Industrial Development Corporation -- a South African institution which provides financing to entrepreneurs and businesses -- the lack of bilateral trade is due to the fact that businessmen in both countries do not know much about each other.
Qhena told Al-Ahram Weekly he hopes last week's state visit will help both sides better understand each other. He believes Egypt's agricultural and ICT sectors are the most attractive for investors.
Further increasing the chances that trade will grow is the fact that an Egyptian delegation is due to visit South Africa in February 2011.
© Al Ahram Weekly 2010
