Media Statement
15 November 2018
Deputy Minister Landers to undertake a working visit to Switzerland
The Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Mr Luwellyn Landers, will undertake a working visit to Geneva, Switzerland, on 16 November 2018.
Deputy Minister Landers will meet with his counterpart, State Secretary Pascale Baeriswyl and co-chair the Ninth South Africa-Swiss High Level Consultations (HLC) where they will discuss a wide range of bilateral and multilateral issues.
The purpose of the HLC is to take stock of relations and progress made since the last sitting, as well as identify new areas of cooperation to continue strengthening relations.
South Africa’s bilateral relations with the Swiss Confederation are guided by the annual High-Level Consultations (HLC), co-chaired at the level of South Africa’s Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation and Switzerland’s State Secretary for Foreign Affairs. South Africa hosted the 8th session of the HLC in Pretoria on 2-3 October 2017.
Deputy Minister Landers's visit will help to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries and new areas of economic and political bilateral relations could be identified. Switzerland continues to consider South Africa as a strategic partner country with long-standing trade and investment relations. South Africa is Switzerland’s second largest trading partner in Africa, after Ghana.
In 2017, imports from Switzerland amounted to R10, 234 billion and exports to Switzerland were R11, 705 billion. The balance of trade is therefore slightly in South Africa’s favour. Switzerland is the seventh largest foreign investor in South Africa, with more than 100 Swiss companies sustaining approximately 33 000 jobs.
Enquiries: Mr Ndivhuwo Mabaya, mabayan@dirco.gov.za or 083 045 7838
ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COOPERATION
OR Tambo Building
460 Soutpansberg Road
Rietondale
Pretoria
0084
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