Special SACU Council Of Ministers Meeting Following the Special Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) Council of Ministers Meeting held on 17 September 2009 in Ezulwini, Swaziland, the following statement was released. The Sacu Council Of Ministers agreed to redouble their collective efforts to resolve the outstanding issues in the Southern African Development Community and European Community (SADC-EC) Interim Economic Partnership Agreement (IEPA) and Final Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations. The Council agreed that the Special Meeting had provided an opportunity for frank discussions and identified priority areas that required further detailed work. Accordingly, the Council directed the Sacu Commission to develop a Sacu vision, strategy and workplan with timelines in respect of the following priority areas: (a) Strengthening capacity in the secretariat; (b) Developing the necessary policies and procedures to conclude the establishment of institutions; (c) Ensuring that all work on industrial policy, agricultural policy, competition policy, unfair trade practices and other priority commitments in the Sacu Agreement are being implemented; (d) Developing a Sacu trade and tariff policy, and trade strategy that support industrialisation in Sacu; (e) Developing deliberate initiatives to promote intra Sacu trade; (f) Following the principle of unified engagement amongst Sacu member states in trade negotiations with third parties, including in the Southern African Development Community/ European Community (SADCEC), Interim Economic Partnership Agreement (IEPA) and Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations while recognising different levels of development and capacity of member states; (g) Investigating financing options for cross-border projects; (h) Exploring the possibility of reviewing the 2002 Sacu Agreement; (i) Developing Sacu positions on new generation issues, taking into account ongoing negotiations; (j) Defining a roadmap for moving towards an Economic Community and Monetary union; (k) Positioning Sacu at the centre of the Sacu Economic Integration Agenda. Business Mission to Egypt and Tunisia The Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) has invited participation in two forthcoming business missions to be led by the Deputy Minister Thandi Tobias- Pokolo. The first will visit Egypt from 29 November to 01 December 2009, and the second Tunisia from 05 to 09 December 2009. According to the dti, it has identified Egypt and Tunisia as key strategic partners for South-South co-operation in North Africa. Both countries offer key market opportunities for the South African business community, particularly in the following sectors: (i) Business Process Outsourcing (BPO); (ii) Information Communication Technology (ICT); (iii) Agro-Processing; (iv) Pharmaceuticals; and (v) Tourism (and related sectors, including construction and hospitality services). South Africa’s Trade and Investment MOUs The South African government has provided a list of all the Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) relating to trade and industry matters that the South African government has entered into. The list covers the years 1994 to 2006.
