East London will be a focal point for trade this Thursday and Friday when it hosts the 5th Eastern Cape Export Symposium at Buffalo City’s International Conference Centre, an event organisers say will result in “path-breaking global attention for the region.”
Among the esteemed speakers is South Africa’s own Wamkele Mene, secretary general of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), who will open the symposium.
Ahead of the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China, SA) summit next week in Sandton, the symposium will be attended by delegates from this trade pact, including representatives from pan-African trading partners such as the US, UK and the European Union.
A statement released ahead of the symposium said: “The two-day conference includes global policymakers and local commentators addressing developments and opportunities in South Africa’s key trade agreements including Brics, Agoa (African Growth and Opportunity Act), AfCFTA and EU trade.
Also on the speakers list is Professor Melaku Desta, coordinator of the Africa Trade Policy Centre at the UN Commission for Africa, and Roberto Cecutti, head of Trade and Economics for the EU’s delegation in South Africa.
National invited speakers include Alistair Tempest, CEO of the E-commerce Forum South Africa; Sipho Mtombeni who oversees Government Affairsand Public Policy for Google; Chris Hattingh, Head of Policy at Centre for Risk Analysis; Corban Thomson, lead project manager for the International Trade Institute of Southern Africa; Shamiso Hlatshwayo, the acting general manager for Research at Brand South Africa, and Francois Fouche, economist and research fellow at The Centre for African Management & Markets at the Gordon Institute of Business Science.
“The program also focusses on export resources available to grow local business and opportunities in specific sectors of the economy including renewable energy and trade in environmental services, including sustainable manufacturing and the circular economy.”
For more information about the 5th Eastern Cape Export Symposium, please contact Athenkosi Zinyane: admin@ecexportsymposium.co.za, 082 558 1317, www.ecexportsymposium.co.za
