POPULAR TRADE FAIR ENHANCES ECONOMIC RELATIONS BETWEEN SA AND ANGOLA – ENVOY

POPULAR TRADE FAIR ENHANCES ECONOMIC RELATIONS BETWEEN SA AND ANGOLA – ENVOY

The participation of the South African companies in the Angolan International Trade Fair (FILDA) contributes significantly in enhancing bilateral economic relations between South Africa and Angola. It also opens doors for the South African companies to identify trade and investment opportunities in Angola with the aim of penetrating the Angolan market.

This is the view of the Acting Ambassador of South Africa to Angola, Mr Maotwe Mokwena. He was speaking ahead of the departure of 24 South African companies which will participate in the 32^nd edition of FILDA taking place in Luanda from 21-26 July 2015. The companies have been assisted by the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) through its Export Marketing and Investment Assistance scheme.  

“Angola is being regarded as our strategic partner in Africa. In this regard, South Africa is Angola’s number one trading partner in Africa. Since the signing of the economic cooperation agreement between the two countries in 2009, great strides have been made to enhance the bilateral trade and investment between our countries. Bilateral trade between SA and Angola surpassed R24 billion in 2014. It is trade and promotion events like FILDA that make the noticeable increase in trade possible,” said Mokwena

Mokwena added that FILDA was one of the international trade exhibitions identified by  the dti for participation due to its strategic importance as a platform to showcase the country’s manufactured products. It is one of the largest multi-sectoral annual exhibitions in the continent whose international reputation continues to grow. Last year more than 800 companies from about 40 countries participated in the exhibition, with more than 50 000 people passing through its turnstiles.

“FILDA gives the SA firms an opportunity to exploit the bilateral agreements concluded between South Africa and Angola. For the past few years, South African companies have participated in this important event to showcase their products and services. This has opened opportunities for a number of companies to penetrate the Angolan market,” emphasised Mokwena.

He expressed hope that this year’s edition will deliver concrete results in the form of export sales, joint partnerships and investments that will further deepen the mutually-beneficial economic relations between the two countries.

 Through participation in the 31^st edition of FILDA last year, the dti facilitated export sales to the value of R10 million.