Good morning, I would like to thank you all for joining us today.

We are very excited to announce yet another measure by which Home Affairs will contribute to the economic development of South Africa.

This comes fresh on the heels of President Zuma’s State of the Nation Address during which he mentioned that we are continuing to review the Immigration Regulations in order to achieve a balanced approach both to economic development and national security, as well as Minister Nene’s 2015/16 Budget, which highlighted the need for us to work innovatively to increase inclusive economic growth, thereby increasing revenue in support of this government’s agenda of radical socio-economic transformation.

As you are aware, a core part of our mandate as the Department of Home Affairs, is to manage immigration effectively in support of our national development and security, as well as our constitutional and international obligations.

The National Development Plan Vision 2030 identifies attracting and facilitating the entry into our country of skilled workers and investors from other countries as a key enabler of economic growth. Our foreign policy also prioritizes South-South linkages globally, and cooperation with other developing countries.

This explains our joining, in 2010, the BRICS forum, alongside Brazil, Russia, India and China, a game-changing partnership which, among other objectives, facilitates member-state and global economic growth and development by expanding markets, promoting trade and investment, and facilitating the efficient, effective allocation of limited resources.

At the Department of Home Affairs, we have always been clear that South Africa is open for business. All legitimate businesspeople from around the world, who seek to invest in our economy, are welcome in South Africa. This is especially true of all our BRICS partners, with whom we work closely to expand mutually-beneficial trade and investment flows.

To this end, we are happy to announce today that effective December 23, 2014, as authorized by section 10A of the Immigration Act of 2002, I have approved the issuance of port of entry visas to BRICS business executives for up to 10 years, with each visit not to exceed 30 days. This applies to diplomatic, official/service and ordinary passport holders.

In effect, business people from Brazil, Russia, India and China, who apply for a visa to visit South Africa for short business trips, will now receive a long-term visa allowing the holder multiple entries for the duration that the holder’s passport remains valid, up to a maximum of 10 years. We will continue to meet our turnaround time of 5 days for short term business visas.

This follows previous efforts to ease travel of BRICS businesspeople to South Africa, such as a directive last year waiving the requirement to provide proof of financial means to BRICS businesspeople who provided a Note Verbale as part of their visa application.

Prior to making this announcement, we have extensively consulted the Department of Trade and Industry as well as the BRICS Business Council. We believe that this significant step will tremendously enhance our efforts to increase trade and investment between our countries and give further impetus to President Zuma’s pronouncements both during the SONA as well as at Davos earlier this year, during the World Economic Forum (WEF), that South Africa is open for business.

As a large and diversified developing economy, with a sophisticated financial system, advanced infrastructure, and close links to the rest of Africa, South Africa is a very strategic partner to its BRICS counter-parts. We are the largest developing country investor in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Our BRICS partners represent an important opportunity for South Africa, distinguished from a host of other promising emerging markets by their demographic and economic potential to rank among the world’s largest and most influential economies in the 21st century. Together the five BRICS countries comprise almost 3 billion people or 40% of the world’s population, cover more than a quarter of the world’s land area over four continents, and account for more than 25% of global GDP.

Business people from Brazil, Russia, India and China want to come to our country, buy and sell an increasing array of products and services, and invest in our companies and growth sectors. At Home Affairs we are completely committed to enabling this by facilitating the efficient entry of these commercial visitors, and will continually look for opportunities to improve in this regard.

We look forward to working productively with the BRICS Business Council and other industry groupings to find solutions such as this one, which enhance our country’s economic competitiveness.

Thank you for your attention.