SA BUSINESSPEOPLE
ARRIVE IN ANGOLA TO SHOWCASE PRODUCTS IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE FAIR
A group of
businesspeople has arrived in Luanda, Angola to participate in the 32nd edition
of the popular Angolan International Trade Fair (FILDA) taking place in Luanda
from 21-26 July 2015.
The Department of
Trade and Industry (the dti) will set up a National Pavilion at the
annual trade fair and 24 companies will exhibit their products and services in
the pavilion. The companies, which hail from Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga,
Eastern Cape, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal are operating in agro-processing,
capital equipment, manufacturing equipment, machinery and tools, mining
engineering, chemicals and automotive sectors.
According to the
Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Mzwandile Masina, participating in
the fair will provide the SA companies with an opportunity to showcase their
products and service in an international exhibition that attracts participants
from countries across the globe.
“This will enable
the companies to gain regional and international business contacts from many
countries, increase their knowledge of the Angolan market and be able to
appoint agents and distributors for their products. 800 companies from more than forty
countries participated in the trade fair last year,” said Deputy Minister
Masina.
He added that one
of the dti’s strategic goals is to grow the South African
manufacturing sector in order to promote industrial development, job creation,
investment and exports.
“To achieve this
objective, the department continuously embarks on international missions and
trade exhibitions in order to promote exports of South African value-added
goods to increase market share in various regions of the world. This will
enable South African businesses to access global markets which will lead to
them increasing their production, thereby growing the SA economy and creating
employment,” stated Deputy Minister Masina.
He further said
that providing support to companies to participate in international trade shows like
FILDA and missions was part of the dti’s export strategy that has
seen almost R3 billion worth of export sales being generated by companies that
participated in missions and pavilions organised by the dti in
2013/2014 financial year.
Speaking before the
arrival of the SA in Angola, the Acting Ambassador of South Africa to Angola,
Mr Maotwe Mokwena said the participation of the SA companies in FILDA
contributes significantly in enhancing bilateral economic relations between
South Africa and Angola.
“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
He added that the
popular trade fair would also open doors for the South African companies to
identify trade and investment opportunities in Angola with the aim of
penetrating the Angolan market.
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