The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies will leave this evening for  London, United Kingdom (UK) to attend the inaugural Commonwealth Trade Ministers Meeting at Lancaster House, London on -9-10 March 2017. The meeting is taking place against the background of discussions on the UK exit from the European Union (EU) and ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting which is schedule to take place  next year.  The aim of the Trade Ministers Meeting is to identify areas for future cooperation among Commonwealth member countries and to set a vision for a policy agenda for such cooperation.

Minister Davies says the Commonwealth Trade Ministers Meeting follows the Commonwealth Business Forum that took place in Malta in November 2015, on the margins of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

“The Trade Ministers meeting is tasked with addressing inter-governmental coordination to unlock latent trade and investment opportunities among Commonwealth states. The theme of the meeting, “Agenda for Growth”, focus on strengthening trade and investment links and increase intra-Commonwealth trade.  The meeting should provide South Africa with an ideal platform to promote the African developmental integration agenda that combines market integration with industrial and infrastructure development and to share South Africa’s priorities and its contribution towards this agenda. The meeting should further provide South Africa with an opportunity to contribute towards and strive to influence the Commonwealth trade and investment policy agenda and secure Africa’s developmental objectives,” says Minister Davies.

On the side-lines of Commonwealth Trade Ministers Meeting, Minister Davies will amongst others have bilateral meetings with the Secretary General of the Commonwealth Ms Baroness Scotland and Hon Lord Price, the UK Minister of State for Trade Policy. He will also participate in a Public Roundtable Discussion at Chatam House.

The meeting between Minister Davies and Baroness Scotland will be an opportunity to share ideas on the Commonwealth agenda on trade and investment, South Africa’s development objectives and Africa’s development integration agenda; including the potential opportunities for South Africa in the UK post Brexit.  The Commonwealth Trade review for 2015, emphasised the importance of increasing intra-Commonwealth trade to US$2.75 trillion by 2030 through lowering bilateral trading costs among members and to build productive capacity in member states.

Bilateral trade in goods and services between the UK and South Africa stood at £7.6 billion in 2015, with South Africa registering a trade surplus with the UK in the last number of years.

Earlier this year Minister Davies and his UK counterpart Dr Liam Fox, committed to strengthening ties as the UK prepares to leave the European Union and to work together to identify trade and investment opportunities that will benefit not only UK and South Africa, but across the wider Southern Africa and Africa region.

Issued by Department of Trade and Industry