President Cyril Ramaphosa has said he will seek to improve relations with numerous African countries after a meeting with Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, in South Africa last week.
The two discussed many factors plaguing both nations, but also discussed methods to improve trade and business relations between two of Africa’s economic heavyweights.
"Nigeria and South Africa are important for each other's economies. More than 100 South African companies have investments in Nigeria and over 1 700 have active trade relations in the country,” an open letter from Ramaphosa said.
“Trade between the two countries was worth around R50bn last year, with South Africa importing a significant amount of its fuel from Nigeria. For its part, South Africa exports a wide range of products to Nigeria, including machinery and appliances, minerals and chemical products," he continued.
There has recently been an influx of major investment in Africa from global superpowers, with Ramaphosa seeing immense opportunity for South African businesses across the continent.
"It is expected that over the next few decades there will be a massive increase in investment in infrastructure across Africa, which should benefit South African construction companies, manufacturers and banks,” said the president.
This influx of investment has allowed for exponential growth on the African continent, which has been one of the main reasons why the president is pushing for the African Continental Free Trade Area.
"The economies of the African continent are together growing at a rate far greater than our own, and we need to see the opportunity that such growth presents for our economy and for our people. It is for this reason that we have embraced the African Continental Free Trade Area," he concluded. – Staff reporter
