Pretoria – South Africa is optimistic about consolidating economic ties with Nigeria, says South African High Commissioner to Nigeria, Lulu Louis Mnguni.
Addressing a trade and investment seminar in Lagos, Nigeria, on Thursday, Mnguni said the participation of businesspeople from both countries contributes immensely to the advancement of relations between South Africa and Nigeria, especially at an economic level.
A 20-member delegation of local companies is currently on a trade and investment mission to Nigeria. It is organised by the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) to create more market access and investment opportunities for South African companies in the West African region.
Mnguni said working together and learning from each other, as the two economic giants of Africa, will not only benefit the citizens but also the entire African continent.
“These two economies have one thing in common, which is relying heavily on commodity exports. South Africa can therefore learn from Nigeria on the entrepreneurial spirit that Nigerians have and Nigeria can also learn from South Africans in the areas of mining beneficiation, tourism and other areas,” he said.
Approximately 120 South African firms operate in Nigeria in various sectors such as engineering, telecommunications, construction, aviation, media, hospitality, banking, entertainment, real estate, retail and oil and gas exploration.
Mnguni said South Africa would also like to see the number of Nigerian companies increasing in South Africa. He said South Africa remains committed to building a society based on the democratic values of social justice, human dignity, equality, non-racialism, non-sexism and the advancement of human rights.
“Let us work together towards building a better future for our people in our countries and Africa in general,” said Mnguni.
The trade and investment mission forms part of the dti’s objective to identify and create export markets for South African value-added products and services. It is also serves to promote South African products and service offerings, while creating business partnerships between the business communities of the respective countries.
The invest mission to Nigeria will conclude with business-to-business meetings and a site visit to the Lekki Free Zone Development Company in Lagos.
The visit to West Africa began on Monday, with the delegation visiting Ghana, while the second leg of the visit to Nigeria began on Wednesday.
The trade and investment mission will conclude on Saturday. – SAnews.gov.za
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