South Africa and Chile have signed an agreement that will see the countries cooperate in areas of trade and industry promotion, decarbonisation and critical minerals, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) has said.
The agreement was signed at the 8th meeting of the Joint Trade and Investment Commission (JTIC) between South Africa and Chile in Pretoria on Friday.
It extends to strengthening bilateral trade and investment relations in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and women-led enterprises as well as value chains.
The JTIC was jointly led by Deputy Minister of the dtic, Zuko Godlimpi, and Chilean Vice Minister of Trade, Claudia Sanhueza Riveros.
Godlimpi said both countries had identified concrete steps to increase and further diversify trade and investment. These include exchange of products of export interest.
“We have also agreed on decarbonisation and adding value to our critical minerals, as President Cyril Ramaphosa has said that, as developing countries, we find ourselves at the lower levels of global value chains.”
“We agreed to explore cooperation to encourage beneficiation of these critical minerals. Beneficiation opportunities will include cooperation with fuel cells and battery manufacturing,” said Godlimpi.
He pointed out that while both countries had discussed mutual trade and investment opportunities, it was also important to understand opportunities and challenges that the private sector might identify.
“For Chilean companies operating in South Africa, they will have access to markets in [the] European Union, the European Free Trade Association, Mercosur (Mercado Común del Sur/Southern Common Market) and also on the continent of Africa through the African Continental Free Trade Area. There is great potential for South Africa to serve as [a] gateway for Chilean companies into Africa,” Godlimpi said.
Both countries will also consider cooperation in small and medium and women-led enterprises as critical to promoting inclusive trade.
“There will be cooperation in exchange of knowledge and expertise, integration into global value chains, start-up programmes, export opportunities for incubators and finance for small businesses,” he said.
“Relevant ministries and agencies tasked with small and medium enterprises and women-led enterprises will make contact with each other before the end of April 2025.” - SAnews.gov.za
