President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared that South Africa is greatly open and ready for business with Spain. He mentioned that the country is deeply encouraged by the number of Spanish companies investing in its economy across a range of sectors.
Ramaphosa disclosed this while speaking at the SA-Spain Business Forum in Pretoria, following bilateral talks with his Spanish counterpart President Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón at the Union Buildings in South Africa.
“We greatly appreciate the opportunity to meet with business leaders from the two countries.
“ For the Spanish delegates, we are open and ready for business. We want to see higher levels of foreign direct investment by Spanish companies in South Africa. We also want to see more South African companies investing in Spain.
“South Africa and the Kingdom of Spain have a well-established bilateral economic relationship, which provides a firm platform for growth and expansion,” he said.
According to Ramaphosa, South Africa’s focus is to increase the export of value-added goods and services to Spain. In this regard, he means vital instruments like mining equipment and technologies, advanced manufacturing, alternative energy equipment, pharmaceuticals, agricultural products, and food processing equipment.
So far, Spain’s investment in South Africa has been concentrated on the renewable energy, tourism, steel, automotive, water, and agro-processing sectors. For instance, companies such as Acciona and GRI have made significant investments in the renewable energy sector.
Drawing from the possibilities of its relationship with Spain, in response, South Africa has adopted an Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan that prioritizes spending on infrastructure, the adoption of an employment stimulus to create and sustain jobs, and measures to deepen local industrialization.
“To support a rapid economic rebound, South Africa has prioritized interventions to drive industrial growth and the expansion of energy generation capacity. These initiatives are providing great opportunities for investors. We are expanding local production to make South African exports more competitive,” the President said.
