Team South Africa to communicate at UK-Africa Investment Summit and WEF

Ministers The two Ministers will be joined by Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel at the 2020 World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, from tomorrow until Friday.

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni and International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor will today represent South Africa at the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London.

The two Ministers will be joined by Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel at the 2020 World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, from tomorrow until Friday.

In a press advisory, National Treasury said the Ministers would represent South Africa at the meetings at the behest of President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is unable to attend.

The UK-Africa Investment Summit will this year focus on four interactive sessions on sustainable finance, trade, and investment, future African growth sectors, and clean energy and climate.

"Team South Africa will communicate at both the UK-Africa Investment Summit and WEF platforms the message that while South Africa faces challenges of weak economic growth and fiscal pressures, the country remains open for business as one of the best investment destinations in the world.

"Team SA will also highlight the strides being made to implement structural reforms to ignite economic growth, ease the cost of doing business, curb government debt, and stabilize SOEs," Treasury said.

The 50th WEF Annual Meeting is convened under the theme 'Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World'.

According to WEF, the meeting will bring together 3 000 participants from around the world, who will be expected to give concrete meaning to "stakeholder capitalism"; assist governments and international institutions in tracking progress towards the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals and facilitate discussions on technology and trade governance.

This year's WEF theme is timely and speaks to complex transnational challenges faced globally, such as climate change, migration, increased geopolitical tension, and cybercrime.

(With Inputs from South African Government Press Release)