UAE, South Africa seek to boost trade ties in energy, tourism

UAE, South Africa seek to boost trade ties in energy, tourism

The UAE and South Africa plan to boost trade and investment opportunities and promote growth in key sectors such as logistics, food production, tourism and energy. Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade said the country is eager to build partnerships with like-minded nations that can catalyse growth, strengthen supply chains and create new pathways for investment. South Africa is the UAE’s second-largest trade partner in Africa, accounting for 8 per cent of the Gulf state’s total non-oil trade with the continent. Al Zeyoudi said the Sub-Saharan African country has the potential to become an important partner in the UAE’s efforts to boost non-oil trade with the entire continent. “Our investment community understands the scale of the opportunity in front of us, and we are ready to work in unison to support new industry sectors, strengthen south-south trade corridors and push our bilateral trade well beyond the $6.5bn we recorded in 2022,” he said. The visit by the UAE delegation, which was led by Dr Al Zeyoudi, included meetings between the representatives of each nation’s private sector. Power company AMEA signed an agreement with South African energy buyer Green Co and Standard Bank to