South Africa's top government and business leaders convened at a Pre-World Economic Forum Annual Meeting breakfast in Sandton earlier today. CNBC Africa's Fifi Peters was there and she spoke to the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Parks Tau about the messaging Team SA will be taking to Davos this year.
South Africa's top government and business leaders convened at a Pre-World Economic Forum Annual Meeting breakfast in Sandton earlier today. CNBC Africa's senior anchor Fifi Peters was there and she spoke to the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Parks Tau about the messaging Team SA will be taking to Davos this year. Let's listen in on her conversation. Well there are a number of important messages that we'll be presenting in Davos. The first of course is that we are president of the G20 this year. It gives us a unique opportunity to be at the leadership of discourse in relation to global business governance, economic governance and I think that we have the opportunity to influence critical discussions around the economy of the world. Not only in the year of the presidency but in the three years in which we're part of the presidency of the G20. The second is of course the message of Africa. This is a year in which we would be finalizing critical elements of the implementation of the Africa continental free trade area and would be able to say that these are the critical issues of looking at Africa as a common market and looking at the prospect and potential of some of the countries that are growing at a phenomenal level and you're able to leverage by investing in Africa on an entire free trade area. But it's also an opportunity to present our business case if you like for the beneficiation of critical minerals, the cooperation that we're developing with our sister countries around collaborating on the critical minerals and ensuring that manufacturing and industrialization happens at source or as close to source as possible. Your portfolio is a very important one globally and we are seeing question marks in financial markets about what the future outlook for trade is and the future outlook for industry as well as competition. Of course as you are aware the concerns around increased protectionism possibly coming towards the global economy as a result of the new presidency of US President Donald Trump. Can you reflect your sentiments to us and how if in any way it impacts some of the plans and the thinking that you have for South Africa and the rest of the continent? Firstly I should say that we are engaged with the Congress in the USA both on the sides of the Democrats and the Republicans. We received positive messaging from both sides. We've reached out at the beginning of the year post the elections. We're still receiving positive messaging from that point of view. So we think that it is important that we continue to engage with the US government that we're able to reach out on a bipartisan basis to the Americans and we think that there's prospect of continuing to work and collaborate with the Americans in terms of investments and economic cooperation. But we are of course concerned about the environment in which industrial protection measures are taking place all over the world and the impact that's likely to have on us but particularly countries in the global south. If you think about the implementation of carbon product adjustment mechanisms in the EU and the UK something that would be engaging our counterparts in Europe on to say if we are to talk about the just transition we need to take into account the reality of the impact of such measures on the economies of our respective countries and our ability therefore to effect the measures in terms of climate change and mitigation strategies that we need to be able to put in place and we think that these are important issues to put on the table. Lastly of course one of the issues that we remain concerned about is the extent to which countries are beginning to undermine the systems at the World Trade Organization not in a manner that's explicit but the extent to which dispute resolution mechanisms are not functioning at an optimal level the extent to which countries are beginning to take decision decisions outside the framework taking advantage of I think the issues around the dispute resolution mechanisms is an area of concern and we think that it's something that we need to resolve as part of this collective of global leaders in terms of facilitating equitable global trade. No doubt South Africa will be going to put its best foot forward to the international investment community to showcase some of the opportunity that lies within the country so perhaps you can just help us understand wherein you are willing to showcase the best of South Africa in trying to attract foreign direct investment and foreign companies to do more business in South Africa than is presently the case. The first thing to present of course is the progress that we're making with regards to structural reforms that are taking place in the country and we've been working very hard on the necessary structural reforms in our country reviewing regulations partnering with business to address particular issues amongst others the progress that we've made with regards to electricity the progress that we're making with regards to logistics I think is a demonstration of a partnership between government and business that's beginning to yield the results and creating a platform in which investors can comfortably say that there is a partnership between business and government that's yielding the results that creates an environment for investors to come into our environment.
Theme: South Africa's positioning as a global market leader at the World Economic Forum
South Africa's Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition, Parks Tau, highlighted key messages that the country will be presenting at the World Economic Forum in Davos this year. Speaking at a Pre-World Economic Forum Annual Meeting breakfast in Sandton, Minister Tau outlined the country's position as the president of the G20, emphasizing the unique opportunity it provides to lead discussions on global business and economic governance. Additionally, he underscored the importance of Africa's role in the global market, particularly in finalizing the implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area. Minister Tau also addressed concerns around increased protectionism in the global economy, stating that South Africa remains engaged with the US government to foster economic cooperation and investment. Moreover, he expressed concerns about the impact of industrial protection measures on the global South and emphasized the need for equitable global trade practices. Minister Tau also highlighted the progress South Africa has made in structural reforms, particularly in the electricity and logistics sectors, showcasing a partnership between government and business that is attractive to potential investors.
"The progress that we're making with regards to structural reforms in our country, partnering with business to address particular issues, is a demonstration of a partnership that creates an environment for investors to come into our country."
South Africa, global market, World Economic Forum, Minister Parks Tau, G20, Africa Continental Free Trade Area, protectionism, US government, investment, structural reforms, business partnership