President Cyril Ramaphosa will tomorrow host Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez P\u00e9rez-Castej\u00f3n of Spain on an Official Visit at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
\nPrime Minister S\u00e1nchez, who is the President of the Government of Spain, will be accompanied by the Spanish Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Ms Reyes Maroto, and a business delegation.
\nAccording to the Presidency, the visit to South Africa will solidify the already strong relations between South Africa and Spain.
\nThe visit will highlight the existing cooperation between the two countries and will focus on the implementation of agreements intended to benefit the citizens of both countries.
\nThe visit also seeks to create opportunities for various South African sectors to meet with their Spanish counterparts and to deepen cooperation in trade and investment, science and innovation, arts and culture, sports and education.
\n\u201cThe visit, which is Prime Minister S\u00e1nchez\u2019s first to South Africa since he assumed office in 2018, is expected to translate the long-standing bilateral relations between the two countries into tangible projects that would stimulate greater interest from Spain in South Africa, especially regarding trade, investment, tourism and cooperation in other identified sectors.
\n\u201cFor South Africa, the engagement between the two leaders is directed towards addressing the triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality and to boost South Africa\u2019s economic recovery and reconstruction efforts following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,\u201d the Presidency said.
\nOver the past 10 years, there has been steady investment in South Africa by Spanish companies. The bulk of the investment is in the renewable energy sector.
\nSouth African companies have also looked to Spain as an investment destination in the real estate sector.
\nMore than 150 Spanish companies have invested in South Africa creating over 20 000 jobs, largely in the following sectors: Infrastructure Development, Renewable Energy, Financial Services, Tourism, Textiles, IT & Software, Metals and Mining. <\/p>\n
Bilateral trade between South Africa and Spain almost quadrupled in the past 10 years. In 2021, Spain was South Africa\u2019s 4th largest export destination in the EU and 5th largest source of imports from the EU. Trade between South Africa and Spain increased over the 2-year period 2020 and 2021.
\nExports from South Africa to Spain increased consistently for the 10-year period.
\nFor the last two years, exports increased from R14.9 billion in 2020 to R28.5 billion in 2021.
\nIn 2019, the Spanish government launched its Third Africa Plan, a long-term strategic document that guides Spain\u2019s relations with the African continent. The plan identifies South Africa as one of the three \u201canchor\u201d countries (together with Nigeria and Ethiopia) for Spain\u2019s foreign policy in Africa.
\nFollowing a welcome ceremony at the Union Buildings, the President and Prime Minister will attend and address the SA-Spanish Business Forum, which seeks to foster further and closer collaboration between South African and Spanish companies in a number of key sectors.<\/p>\n
Source: South African Government News Agency<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"