SA pushes for South America trade pact

Leonard Neill
THE GAUTENG Economic Development Agency (Geda) is to open an office in
Sao Paulo, Brazil at the
end of this month with a view to encouraging the development of trade and investment partnerships in South America.
A delegation of Geda
officials accompanied by representatives of motor component and agricultural development companies is in Brazil at present meeting a cross-section of industry to form joint ventures and
partnerships. The trip, says Geda's senior project
manager in charge of the
initiative Rui Fragoso, is in answer to the visit by
members of the South American common market group Mercosur to South Africa earlier this month.
"Owing to the number
of success cases facilitated by Geda to date, the increase in trade, exports, imports and joint ventures is our commitment to increasing free trade between Mercosur and South Africa," he said.
Mercosur, which represents Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay, is in talks at present with the South African Customs Union (Sacu), which comprises South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland on the possibility of a free trade agreement between the two groupings.