PAKISTAN AND SOUTH AFRICA CLASP HANDS Trade expo sees a collaborative effort to improve business in both countries

Mr. Naveed Qamar, Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Commerce
Mr. Naveed Qamar, Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Commerce

For the first time ever, the Pakistan Africa Trade Development Conference & Exhibition is being hosted in South Africa, bringing hundreds of international brands to our shores. This marks an incredible opportunity for South African businesses – from small to big – to find new partners, suppliers, and technologies to grow.

Mr. Naveed Qamar, Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Commerce, along with Stella Tembisa Ndabeni-Abrahams, South Africa’s Minister of Small Business Development, briefed the media on the importance of collaboration between the two countries earlier today.

A Hub of Intelligence

“Hundreds of people have ventured here for this to be a caucus of attention on goods and services. The businesses that have come from a number of countries in the region have all come here to take something away, either in terms of a deal, a contract, an MOU, or even a business card as a point of contact for the future. There is something for everybody here,” said Qamar.

The exhibition is for all sectors. From IT to Pottery, Home and Kitchen ware to Pharmaceuticals, Textiles to Surgical Instruments, Leather Goods to Pumps, Electro-Mechanical Machinery to Food, or Spices to the world-famous Himalayan salt; there is plenty of opportunity to be found.

A Warm Welcome

“As South Africa we welcomed this opportunity,” said Ndabeni-Abrahams. “While we exhibit and showcase the talent that we have in Africa and Pakistan, our task is to ‘say how do we take it forward, how do we increase where we are at, for the benefit of both peoples?’. We are looking forward to ensuring that we build an ecosystem that will enable our people to increase the supplies they make to Pakistan, as much as enabling an ecosystem that allows people from Pakistan to do business in our country in a legal trading form. This will become the centre of a trade agreement because we do not want to see our peoples fighting. It is about how we learn from each other and how we collaborate so that we can both increase our economies.”

Establishing a Stronger Unity

The purpose of events like this is to make sure people’s lives are improved, according to Ndabeni-Abrahams.

“One of the things we are hoping is to engage our counterparts in Pakistan on is an SME bridge zone. In the trade engagements that we have we should identify where small businesses can assist,” she said.

For example, a small company may not be able to build an entire car, but they would still like to be involved in creating doors, handles, or windows.

“We want to know what the capabilities of our small and medium enterprises are that can complement the work being done by cooperatives.”

Attendance is Free

The 3rd Pakistan Africa Trade Development Trade Expo is on at the Sandton Convention Centre from 30 November to 01 December 2022. Registration is free at www.pakafrica.info and also free at the door.