Pretoria - More than 100 South African-Saudi Arabian companies compared notes at the two-day 9th session of the South Africa-Saudi Arabia Joint Economic Commission (JEC) and the South Africa- Saudi Arabia Trade and Investment Forum hosted in Pretoria.
Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Ebrahim Patel and Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef led the proceedings, and expressed optimism on elevating trade ties between the two nations.
“South Africa exports a range of products (to Saudi Arabia) from gold to fruits, agricultural products, major metal products and automotives. We import from Saudi Arabia petroleum, petroleum chemical by-products with a rising trend of fertiliser imports from Saudi Arabia. The past two days have been about trying to strengthen the trade and investment links between our two countries,” said Patel.
“We have hosted the inaugural South Africa-Saudi Arabia Trade and Investment Forum where we had more than 100 firms from the two countries and not only did they exchange business cards, they had an opportunity to meet with each other. We hope good things will come from it, that there will be investment and economic co-operation.”
At the Pretoria meeting, an announcement was also made for the establishment of the South Africa-Saudi Arabia Business Council with a team of members from both countries.
The mandate of the council includes finding opportunity for small and medium enterprises.
At the end of the session, Patel said it has been “the most productive session which would not have been possible without the energy” of his colleague, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef.
“He was in South Africa, in Cape Town in May this year. We knew that things had been on hold because of Covid-19, we needed to unblock that and he has brought his customary energy and business acumen. He was for many years in the private sector, leading a big family business in Saudi Arabia,” Ebrahim.
He said South Africa is the gateway to the wider market of 1.3 billion consumers on the African continent.
For his part, Al-Khorayef said there is potential for intensify co-operation in multiple sectors including energy, transport, food security, tourism, mining agriculture and others.
“We need to unlock the value that is there between our two countries. The political relations between the two countries are great and they are a foundation that we will definitely use and leverage to build on it a strong commercial and trade relation. We see great opportunity to co-operate with each other also in education, in health, and training in higher education,” he said.
“We see great opportunities for South African companies to come and invest in Saudi, to take advantage of huge products that are ongoing. So, I am happy to see the engagement. The amount of discussion that has been taking place in the last two days shows the genuine interest to increase the relations.”
He said South African companies will be treated well when venturing into the Saudi market.
“Our colleagues here from the private sector will be happy to help counterparts from South Africa. I can assure you also the same thing from the government. Our commitment to the investors coming from South Africa - you will get first-class treatment and you will be given opportunities that are clear,” he said.
Total bilateral trade between South Africa and Saudi Arabia stood at R66.15 billion in 2021, with South African exports at R5.54 billion and imports from Saudi Arabia amounting to R60.61 billion.
South Africa’s main exports to Saudi Arabia are concentrated in agriculture, and agro-processing, mineral resources, chemicals, automotive parts and components, and metals. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia ranked as a largest source of imports, mainly for oil supplier. Saudi Arabia plays an important role as a source of oil, as well as, a destination for South Africa’s exports – according to the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition.
IOL