Sub-Saharan Africa is increasingly becoming a more important trade partner for South Africa.
President Jacob Zuma, delivering the State of the Nation Address yesterday, points out that South African investments in the continent increased from R5,5-billion in 2002 to R32,3-billion in 2013.
“Our exports into the continent are also increasing each year, having been at 28,5% up from 22,6% in 2002,” he says.
“South Africa will continue to champion broader regional integration through the Southern African Customs Union, SADC and the envisaged Tripartite Free Trade Area that spans eastern and southern Africa.
“We will also continue to promote South-South cooperation by utilising membership and engagements with formations and groupings of the South.
“Similarly we will continue to promote mutually beneficial relations with countries of the North.
“We will continue to deepen economic development, trade, and investment partnerships with the BRICS through the work of the BRICS Contact Group for Economic and Trade Issues.”