The South African Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Mr Lluwelyn Landers and his Spanish counterpart, Mr Ignacio Ybáñez Rubio- Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, cochaired the 10th Session of the South Africa-Spain Annual Consultations in Madrid from 9th to 10th April 2015. Read More
Annual Consultations were established in 2000 and convene annually at Deputy Ministers’ level. Annual Consultations are anchored around five Working Groups: (i) Foreign Affairs (ii) Economy, Trade and Energy; (iii) Development Cooperation and Culture; (iv) Home Affairs; and (v) Defence.
During their meeting in Madrid the two co-chairs reviewed bilateral political and economic relations between the two countries and expressed satisfaction on the steady progress of cooperation. As such, Working Groups on (a) Foreign Affairs, (b) Economy, Trade and Energy, and (c) Defence met on 09 April 2015 at senior officials level and provided their reports and work-plans during the joint plenary session co-chaired by the two Deputy Ministers on 10 April 2015
For the Foreign Affairs Working Group, both sides agreed, among other, to strengthen collaboration in the international forums particularly that Spain is the current non-permanent member of the UNSC while South Africa is the member of the African Union Peace and Security Council and the Chair of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security. They also discussed various issues relating to regional, continental and global developments. As such, both sides also concurred on the importance of multilateralism and further exchanged views on the process of UN Reform, the Post 2015 Development Agenda, G-20, the Paris Conference of the Parties on Climate Change as well as Human Rights
The Economy, Trade and Energy Working Group, discussed various issues of common interest and agreed that these Consultations succeeded in further growing the scope of the bilateral relationship. Both sides also noted that trade between the two countries has increased substantially from R15.6 billion in 2009 to R29 billion in 2014. South Africa remains the largest recipient of Spanish outward investment to Africa, with foreign direct investment (FDI) over the period 2006-2014 estimated at over R12 billion. Both sides also discussed Spain’s involvement in South Africa renewable energy programme (the biggest in Africa) where around 40% of this programme is being delivered by Spanish companies. Around 150 Spanish companies have invested in South Africa and they are estimated to have created over 1,812 jobs, largely in the following FDI sectors: Energy, Financial Services, Tourism, Textiles, IT & Software, Metals and Mining. Major South African (or companies with South African links) currently investing in Spain are: SABMILLER, Barloworld Ltd, Mondi Group, Sappi Ltd, Safmarine (Pty) Ltd, Swissport South Africa (Pty) Ltd and Dimension Data. Around 568 jobs are estimated to have been created by these companies.
While in Madrid, Deputy Minister Landers also delivered a speech at the Royal Elcano Institute on 09 April 2015 under the topic, “South Africa’s Foreign Policy Objectives for the 21st Century”. He also addressed a Business Breakfast session at the InterContinental Hotel on 10 April 2015 where various investment and trade opportunities in South Africa were discussed with major Spanish investors. South Africa will host the next Session of the Annual Consultations.
- Following are some of the relevant documents from the 10 Annual Consultations: Signed Joint Communiqué Read more
- Speech by Deputy Minister Landers at the Royal Elcano Institute on 09 April 2015 Read more
- Opening Remarks by Deputy Minister Landers during Business Breakfast on 10 April 2015 Read more
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