The Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Bulelani Magwanishe will lead a Trade and Investment Mission to Tunisia from 2-6 December 2018. The mission will comprise of a trade and investment seminar, business-to-business meetings and site visits. A group of South African companies operating in the agro-processing, energy, renewable energy, mining and capital equipment, chemicals, infrastructure and construction will be part of the mission.

According to Magwanishe, the mission will assist in building trade relations between the two nations situated on the north and south tips of the continent.

South African goods and services do not enjoy much of presence in the North African region. The mission is expected to provide South African companies with a platform to introduce their products and services into the Tunisian market. South Africa and Tunisia enjoy well-established political ties but statistics show that a great need exists to build strong bilateral economic relations, says Magwanishe.

He adds that despite total bilateral between the two countries growing from R431 million in 2011 to more than R500m in 2017, the trade volumes are still low.

We have identified Tunisia as a priority partner for South Africa as per the dti’s diversification strategy because it potentially offers immense opportunities for SA companies in terms of trade and investments, says Magwanishe.

He adds that Tunisia is a diverse market-oriented economy with important agricultural, mining, tourism and manufacturing industries and offering many opportunities for trade and investment.

Tunisia will be also utilised as a spring board into the rest of the North African region, where we are targeting other key markets such as Egypt. The economy of Tunisia is amongst the most competitive economies in the African and the Arab world, emphasises Magwanishe.

The visit by the Deputy Minister Magwanishe is also expected to pave the way for the commencement of work towards establishment of the Joint Trade and Investment Committee which will go a long way towards advancing the bilateral trade between the two countries.

Source: Department of Trade and Industry