Deputy President to depart for Australasia

Pretoria - South African Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka will depart on Monday 16 October 2006 for Australia and New Zealand where she is expected to pay an official visit scheduled from 16-21 October 2006 with a view to strengthening political, economic, cultural and trade links with both countries.

Deputy President Mlambo-Ngcuka will hold discussions with her counterparts Deputy Prime Ministers Mark Vaile in Australia and Michael Cullen in New Zealand. During the visit, Deputy President Mlambo-Ngcuka is expected to pay courtesy calls on both Prime Minister Howard in Canberra and Prime Minister Helen Clark in New Zealand.

Deputy President Mlambo-Ngcuka visit to the region comes within the context of promoting South Africa's Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative (AsgiSA) and the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA) programmes with a view to a faster and shared economic growth in SA whilst strengthening and consolidating political and economic relations with the two countries.

In this regard, Deputy President Mlambo-Ngcuka will also during the visit explore opportunities for partnerships between South Africa and two countries with a view to Infrastructure development; sector investment (or industrial) strategies; skills and education initiatives; second economy interventions; macro-economic issues; and public administration issues.

In addition, the visit will also afford the Deputy President with an opportunity to interact with other key political, economic and trade role-players.

Deputy President's visit to Australia also takes place against the background of the scheduled session of the SA-Australia Joint Ministerial Commission on the 18th of October, which will be co-chaired by Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Mandisi Mpahlwa and his Australian counterpart, Minister Warren Truss.

Deputy President Mlambo-Ngcuka is expected to return to South Africa on Saturday 21 October 2006.

Bilateral Economic Relations

Australia


South Africa's economic relations with Australia are excellent. Australia is South Africa's third largest trading partner in Asia, after Japan and the People's Republic of China (PRC), and seventh largest trading partner globally. South Africa is Australia's biggest trading partner on the African continent. Fifty percent of Australian exports to Africa are earmarked for South Africa. Similarities in sectors such as the wine industry, mining technology and equipment, and automotive components, to name but a few, give rise to numerous joint venture/bilateral trade opportunities.

South Africa is Australia's 19th largest trading partner and is by far Australia's largest and most dynamic market in Africa. Australian exports to South Africa were mainly coal, crude petroleum and nickel; and South African exports to Australia were, notably passenger motor vehicles (mostly BMW 3 Series vehicles) worth $A554 million, as well as furniture, pig iron, paper and textile products.

Two-way investment flows between Australia and South Africa have expanded since the demise of the apartheid system. South Africa dominates stocks of African investment into Australia (currently the 17th largest foreign investor - up from 23rd in 1993-1994). Australian investment in South Africa has also increased - mainly in mining, mining equipment, agriculture, agribusiness and infrastructure and services and trade - and dominates Australian investment into Africa

Development Co-Operation

Even though Asia and the Pacific Islands constitute Australia's foreign policy priority, it is also investing substantial amounts of money into the African region, by means of foreign direct investments as well as overseas development assistance (ODA). South Africa receives priority when it comes to development co-operation and assistance with Australia providing approximately R480 million in development assistance to South Africa since 1994.

Development co-operation between South Africa and Australia is manifested in a bilateral strategic programme, which focuses Australian assistance more tightly on South Africa and Mozambique in Southern Africa, with Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda in East Africa, benefiting from, international and NGO programmes.

Trade Statistics In Rand Value

Trade with Australia

Year200320042005
SA Exports R 5,723,886,000 R 7,157,620,000 R 9,704,431,000
SA Imports R 6,112,773,000 R 7,247,278,000 R 7,353,296,000
Balance R -388,887,000 R -89,658,000 R 2,351,135,000
Total Trade R 11,836,659,000 R 14,404,898,000 R 17,057,727,000

New Zealand

South Africa is New Zealand's primary market in sub-Saharan Africa, given its unique combination of a first-world economic infrastructure and large emerging market economy. The gradual opening of the South African economy to international competition and the stable and well managed political and macro-economic environment, is viewed as offering potential investors a profitable base from which to launch their Southern Africa operations.

Since 1990, bilateral trade has increased nine-fold to the point where South Africa is currently New Zealand's 33rd most important export market and 18th most important source of visitors. In 2004, New Zealand exported goods to the value of $101.7 million to South Africa, and purchased $129.2 million worth of South African products.

The main exports are milk and cream, cheese, curd and mutton. The major import is wine.

As a consequence of the developing dairy product market in Southern African countries, the New Zealand Dairy Board opened an office in Johannesburg in 1992. New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) has representation in Johannesburg. A New Zealand-South Africa Business Council has been established in New Zealand to promote trade and economic linkages with South Africa.

Trade Statistics In Rand Value

Trade with New Zealand

Year200320042005
SA Exports R 432,261,000 R 644,840,000 R 661,002,000
SA Imports R 486,602,000 R 545,102,000 R 723,496,000
Balance R -54,341,000 R 99,738,000R 62,494,000
Total Trade R 918,863,000 R 1,189,942,000 R 1,384,498,000

Official Development Assistance (ODA)

ODA programme funding is currently directed to NGOs in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique through UN agencies. In 2004, an amount of NZ$420 million was channelled to Southern African countries through multilateral institutions. South Africa remained the key focus and recipient of New Zealand ODA in Africa. During the past five (5) years, an annual amount of NZ$1.65 million has been committed to HIV/AIDS community awareness activities and on education programmes in KwaZulu- Natal and the Eastern Cape. A further focus of engagement has targeted the exchange of professional skills and knowledge in such areas as town planning, land disputes and early education learning programmes.

Issued by Ronnie Mamoepa on 082 990 4853

Department of Foreign Affairs
Private Bag X152
Pretoria
0001

15 October 2006






Quick Links

Disclaimer | Contact Us | HomeLast Updated: 16 October, 2006 8:34 AM
This site is best viewed using 800 x 600 resolution with Internet Explorer 5.0, Netscape Communicator 4.5 or higher.
© 2003 Department of Foreign Affairs, Republic of South Africa