Date: 09/02/05
Source: Ministry of Trade and Industry
Title: Hendricks: Inaugural ceremony of 16th International Engineering & Technology Fair
Speech delivered by Deputy Minister, Lindiwe Hendricks, on the occasion of the Inaugural Ceremony of the 16th International Engineering and Technology Fair, India
09 February 2005
Ladies and gentlemen, The Minister of External Affairs, His Excellency Mr Natwar Singh, the President of the Confederation of Indian Industry Mr Sunil Kant Munjal, the Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industries Mr Subodh Bhargava, distinguished guests,
It is an honour and privilege for South Africa to partner at this prestigious event and for me to inaugurate: The 16th International Engineering and Technology Fair.
The IETF presents an opportunity for South Africa as the Partner Country to show-case it’s entrepreneurial and technological achievements and provides South African companies with unprecedented exposure not only in India, but also the Asia region. In addition to this, the IETF enables South African companies to foster strategic partnerships, and encourage business networking and international benchmarking.
India and South Africa have some very deep ties on many different levels. The historic displacement of Indians to South Africa has enriched the cultural landscape of our rainbow nation and brought our two countries closer on political, cultural and economic levels.
On a political level, India played a critical role in the alliance against Apartheid. It is in part due to the efforts of India’s leadership that we are even able to gather here today. The cultural influences of India are so strong in South Africa that certain elements have embedded themselves into the richly diverse tapestry of South African culture, and are considered local. The most recent dimension to our relationship with India that goes back 140 years is the economic dimension. This area of our relationship shows great promise for both countries, if leveraged and well managed. The early 90’s saw the establishment of trade ties, and the dawn of a new dimension in India-South Africa relations. It is this economic relationship that we are nurturing here today.
South Africa has identified India as a strategic partner. Additionally South Africa and India have similar developmental challenges as countries of the South, with coordination in the multilateral arena having the potential to significantly influence the world trading system. Our two countries enjoy historical relations that hold the promise of growing economic relations and co-operation in key areas, thus making India a key partner in the advancement of South Africa’s economic strategy.
Various initiatives have been undertaken to maximise opportunities between the two economies. Amongst these include the Joint Ministerial Commission as well as the Indo-South Africa Commercial Alliance (ISACA).
Developments in building economic relations with India have also expanded to include our partners in SACU, as reflected in the recent SACU decision to pursue FTA negotiations with India. We should therefore take advantage of this opportunity to fully engage the business sectors and other stakeholders present here today.
Together, we should leverage this vehicle of IETF to steer the India-South Africa relations in the direction of mutual prosperity, growth, and development. As governments, we seek to create an environment conducive for trade to occur without any un-toward hindrances – tariff or non-tariff. In today’s gathering, we should strive to find a medium that can give meaning to the spirit of the South Africa-India relations, as it has not yet realised its full potential.
Ladies and Gentleman, may I also take this opportunity to invite you to the South Africa Day which will be hosted tomorrow (10 February 2005) wherein various events have been planned at the South African Pavilion, including a programme of sector and industry focused presentations, seminars and workshops, concerts, promotion of arts and crafts, as well as events promoting tourism, food and wine. Parallel to this, information-sharing seminars will be hosted by, Provincial Investment Promotion Agencies (Wesgro, Invest North West, Gauteng Economic Development Agency, Eastern Cape Development Corporation) , Export councils as well as Sector Managers specialising in the ICT, Transport, Aerospace, Rail and Marine, Automotives, Steel, Engineering and Clothing and Textiles sectors.
I fervently hope that through the IETF the sectors represented here map out a clear strategy for future co-operation to ensure that the deep friendship between India and South Africa intensifies, and that our trade and investment ties are strengthened. I therefore urge business to leverage this opportunity in order to take the economic partnerships to the desired level of sustained growth and development in our economies.
Issued by: Ministry of Trade and Industry
9 February 2005
Source: Ministry of Trade and Industry
Title: Hendricks: Inaugural ceremony of 16th International Engineering & Technology Fair
Speech delivered by Deputy Minister, Lindiwe Hendricks, on the occasion of the Inaugural Ceremony of the 16th International Engineering and Technology Fair, India
09 February 2005
Ladies and gentlemen, The Minister of External Affairs, His Excellency Mr Natwar Singh, the President of the Confederation of Indian Industry Mr Sunil Kant Munjal, the Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industries Mr Subodh Bhargava, distinguished guests,
It is an honour and privilege for South Africa to partner at this prestigious event and for me to inaugurate: The 16th International Engineering and Technology Fair.
The IETF presents an opportunity for South Africa as the Partner Country to show-case it’s entrepreneurial and technological achievements and provides South African companies with unprecedented exposure not only in India, but also the Asia region. In addition to this, the IETF enables South African companies to foster strategic partnerships, and encourage business networking and international benchmarking.
India and South Africa have some very deep ties on many different levels. The historic displacement of Indians to South Africa has enriched the cultural landscape of our rainbow nation and brought our two countries closer on political, cultural and economic levels.
On a political level, India played a critical role in the alliance against Apartheid. It is in part due to the efforts of India’s leadership that we are even able to gather here today. The cultural influences of India are so strong in South Africa that certain elements have embedded themselves into the richly diverse tapestry of South African culture, and are considered local. The most recent dimension to our relationship with India that goes back 140 years is the economic dimension. This area of our relationship shows great promise for both countries, if leveraged and well managed. The early 90’s saw the establishment of trade ties, and the dawn of a new dimension in India-South Africa relations. It is this economic relationship that we are nurturing here today.
South Africa has identified India as a strategic partner. Additionally South Africa and India have similar developmental challenges as countries of the South, with coordination in the multilateral arena having the potential to significantly influence the world trading system. Our two countries enjoy historical relations that hold the promise of growing economic relations and co-operation in key areas, thus making India a key partner in the advancement of South Africa’s economic strategy.
Various initiatives have been undertaken to maximise opportunities between the two economies. Amongst these include the Joint Ministerial Commission as well as the Indo-South Africa Commercial Alliance (ISACA).
Developments in building economic relations with India have also expanded to include our partners in SACU, as reflected in the recent SACU decision to pursue FTA negotiations with India. We should therefore take advantage of this opportunity to fully engage the business sectors and other stakeholders present here today.
Together, we should leverage this vehicle of IETF to steer the India-South Africa relations in the direction of mutual prosperity, growth, and development. As governments, we seek to create an environment conducive for trade to occur without any un-toward hindrances – tariff or non-tariff. In today’s gathering, we should strive to find a medium that can give meaning to the spirit of the South Africa-India relations, as it has not yet realised its full potential.
Ladies and Gentleman, may I also take this opportunity to invite you to the South Africa Day which will be hosted tomorrow (10 February 2005) wherein various events have been planned at the South African Pavilion, including a programme of sector and industry focused presentations, seminars and workshops, concerts, promotion of arts and crafts, as well as events promoting tourism, food and wine. Parallel to this, information-sharing seminars will be hosted by, Provincial Investment Promotion Agencies (Wesgro, Invest North West, Gauteng Economic Development Agency, Eastern Cape Development Corporation) , Export councils as well as Sector Managers specialising in the ICT, Transport, Aerospace, Rail and Marine, Automotives, Steel, Engineering and Clothing and Textiles sectors.
I fervently hope that through the IETF the sectors represented here map out a clear strategy for future co-operation to ensure that the deep friendship between India and South Africa intensifies, and that our trade and investment ties are strengthened. I therefore urge business to leverage this opportunity in order to take the economic partnerships to the desired level of sustained growth and development in our economies.
Issued by: Ministry of Trade and Industry
9 February 2005
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