David Mabuza to attend Nordic-Africa Business Association Summit in Norway

During this visit, Deputy President Mabuza will engage various investors and business leaders from Nordic countries as part of South Africa’s drive to attract foreign direct investment into the country.


Devdiscourse News Desk | Pretoria | Updated: 04-10-2019 13:15 IST | Created: 04-10-2019 13:15 IST
David Mabuza to attend Nordic-Africa Business Association Summit in Norway
Deputy President Mabuza is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with the Government of Norway to further strengthen fraternal relations between the two countries. Image Credit: Twitter(@SAgovnews)
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  • South Africa

Deputy President David Dabede Mabuza will undertake a Working Visit to Oslo, Norway to participate at the Nordic-Africa Business Association (NABA) Summit. The working visit will take place from 7-9 October 2019.

During this visit, Deputy President Mabuza will engage various investors and business leaders from Nordic countries as part of South Africa’s drive to attract foreign direct investment into the country. Deputy President Mabuza is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with the Government of Norway to further strengthen fraternal relations between the two countries.

The NABA Summit is the Nordic region’s leading business conference focusing exclusively on Africa, with the aim of expanding and strengthening economic ties between the Nordic region and the African continent. The theme for the 2019 Summit, is “Better Business Together” – which emphasizes dialogue, networking, and confidence-building as part of supporting the economic agenda of South Africa and the African continent. The Summit will see South Africa and Nigeria, which are Africa’s two leading economies, share the platform and represented by their Deputy Presidents.   

This year’s Summit is envisaged to receive hundreds of guests, investors, and policymakers from more than 35 countries drawn from the Nordic countries comprising of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Sweden. The Nordic region is an important source of Foreign Direct Investment in South Africa with more than 150 companies operating in South Africa. The Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund has invested more than R90 billion in South Africa. Bilateral trade with the region exceeds USD 2 billion. 

South Africa’s participation in the Summit will focus on strategic sectors such as energy, finance, technology, health, the ocean's economy, and agribusiness. The deliberations at the NABA Summit will also include economic opportunities presented by the operationalization of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement. In this regard, the Deputy President will also host an exclusively South African Investment Round-Table with CEOs from top companies in the region as part of positioning South Africa as a preferred investment destination. 

Deputy President Mabuza will also pay a courtesy call on the Prime Minister of Norway, Her Excellency, Ms. Erna Solberg. Norway remains a strategic partner for South Africa’s development, supporting the country’s efforts to build its domestic and regional capacity in important areas such as renewable energy, science and innovation, skills development, the ocean economy, maritime safety, climate change, and environmental governance.

Deputy President Mabuza is further expected to hold bilateral meetings with Norwegian Government Ministers in key sectors of Digitalisation, Science and Higher Education, Petroleum and Energy.

The Deputy President will be accompanied by the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Mr. Ebrahim Patel, Deputy Minister of International Relations and Co-operation, Mr. Alvin Botes, South African business delegation and senior government officials.    

(With Inputs from New Zealand Government Press Release)

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