DEPUTY MINISTER MASINA TO ADDRESS INTERNATIONAL STEEL CONFERENCE IN CAPE TOWN

DEPUTY MINISTER MASINA TO ADDRESS INTERNATIONAL STEEL CONFERENCE IN CAPE TOWN

The Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Mzwandile Masina will deliver the keynote address on the first day of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Steel Committee Conference which will take place at the Lagoon Hotel in Cape Town from 11-12 December 2014.  

It will only be the second time that the conference, which is being organised by the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti), is held outside of the OECD headquarters in Paris, France. The 2008 session took place in Malaysia.

The conference will bring together 250 international government and industry representatives from importing and exporting economies to assess emerging market trends and policy developments affecting trade in steelmaking raw materials.

“The conference will put the spotlight on the South African steel industry by highlighting investment opportunities in the sector in an attempt to entice prospective investors to consider South Africa as an ideal destination for raw material value-addition,” says Deputy Minister Masina.

He adds that given the critical role of the steel industry in the industrialisation process and economic development, the conference will contribute significantly to the current debates in the sustainability of the South African steel industry, specifically on beneficiation.

South Africa became a member of the OECD in 2008. The Steel Committee is one of the committees that the country has an observer status in through its multi-lateral relations commitments in the OECD. The Steel Committee is comprised of 27 OECD country members, four associates (Brazil, Romania, Russian Federation and Ukraine), as well as seven participants (Argentina, Bulgaria, Egypt, India, Malaysia, South Africa and Chinese Taipei). China participates in Committee discussions as an Invitee.

The Committee’s participants account for most of the world’s steel production and trade. The Committee viewed as a think-tank and a platform to understand policy decisions and instruments deployed by participating countries to support the growth and development of the global steel industry.