The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies will host his Omani counterpart, Dr Ali Bin Masoud Al-Sunaidy for a ministerial visit to South Africa that is set to take place at the Hilton Hotel in Sandton, on Monday, 27 March 2017.

The upcoming visit follows President Jacob Zuma’s state visit to Oman in November 2011, where both countries committed to strengthening close political ties and increase trade and investment.

Minister Davies says this visit intends to strengthen bilateral economic relations between South Africa and Oman, with particular objectives of fully exploiting the close collaborations that have since been established, and increasing the volumes of trade between the two countries.

“Total trade between our two countries remained fairly consistent over the last five years and stood at R 5.9 billion in 2016, with Oman enjoying a trade surplus of R 4.7 billion. This is largely due to oil imports. It is our vision going forward, that we drive a process of a shift towards increased trade and investment between ourselves and our Omani counterparts,” says Davies. 

Davies adds that he would like to see Omani government officials and businesspeople seriously consider South Africa as an attractive investment destination.

The two-day ministerial visit will comprise of a bilateral meeting between Minister Davies and his counterpart, Dr Ali Bin Masoud Al-Sunaidy, a business forum between the respective business communities, as well as site visits to projects of economic interest to both countries.

Issued by Department of Trade and Industry