South Africa: DTI Takes SA Business to Benin

Pretoria — The Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Elizabeth Thabethe, accompanied by a 15-member business delegation, is in Benin on the first Outward Selling and Investment Mission. Thabethe arrived in Cotonou, Benin, with the delegation on Sunday night. The deputy minister is on Monday expected to deliver a keynote address at a trade and investment seminar that will be attended by businesspeople from Benin and South Africa. She will be accompanied by the Minister of Industry, Trade, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Benin, Madina Sephou. "The mission will also serve as an ideal opportunity for South African companies that would like to export value-added products and services, and for companies that are looking for investment opportunities in Benin," says Thabethe. The objective of the mission is to increase trade and investment between South Africa and Benin.

The mission takes place within the context of South Africa's strategic engagement with the rest of the continent, aimed at supporting Africa's economic revival, socio-economic development and promoting intra-Africa trade. The targeted sectors for the mission include agriculture and agro-processing; furniture and wood processing; infrastructure (rail, road and telecoms); built environment professionals (consulting engineers; civil engineering contractors; quantity surveying and architects); mining and capital equipment, and electro technical (electronics, electrical engineers, ICT). continued