Remarks by President Cyril Ramaphosa at the South Africa - Côte d’Ivoire Business Forum, CSIR Conference Centre, Tshwane

Your Excellency President Ouattara,
Your Excellencies Ambassadors of South Africa and Côte d’Ivoire,
Minister Ebrahim Patel and Minister Souleymane Diarrassouba
Honourable Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
Business and industry leaders from South Africa and Côte d’Ivoire,
Representatives of business organisations,
Distinguished Guests,
Friends,

It is my pleasure to address this South Africa-Côte d’Ivoire Business Forum.

This gathering follows closely on the Ivorian-South African Economic Forum that took place in Abidjan in December last year. 

Your Excellency President Ouattara, 

The fact that I was accompanied on my first state visit to Côte d’Ivoire by a South African business delegation is an indication of how important commercial ties are to the relationship between our countries. 

Today we are honoured to receive you, your official delegation and around 60 businesspeople from Côte d’Ivoire. 

This Business Forum is extremely valuable as we intensify our efforts to enhance trade and investment relations between our two countries. 

It is also a strong demonstration of our shared commitment to the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area. 

It is now just over 18 months since the African Continental Free Trade Area came into force, and it is up to us as African countries to ensure that we seize the opportunities that it presents. 

We congratulate Côte d’Ivoire for being selected to host the next Intra-Africa Trade Fair in Abidjan in 2023. 

I have no doubt there will be good attendance by South African business, which has demonstrated a keen interest in greater levels of intra-Africa trade and investment. 

Every trade mission, every trade fair and every business forum such as this one is another building block towards greater African economic integration. 

I want to thank the members of the South African business community who have joined us here today. 

You appreciate, as do we, the importance of Cote d’Ivoire as one of the continent’s most dynamic and promising economies. 

In 2021, South Africa’s exports to Cote d’Ivoire amounted to R1.63 billion. 

This is less than 1% of our total exports to the rest of the world. 

I see great opportunity to improve this and strengthen our economic ties. 

Opportunities exist for export of products from our food value-chains, such as wines and sugar.

There are also opportunities for the export of machinery, consumer goods, medical products, vehicles, herbicides and insecticides, televisions and paper. 

I have no doubt that many business people will see additional opportunities. 

While the value of South African imports from Côte d’Ivoire has doubled over the last five years, it has started from a relatively low base.

We see great potential for growth here.

There is opportunity for South Africa to import many more goods from Cote d’Ivoire.

These include petroleum oil for our vehicles, palm oil and palm-oil cakes that are used widely in South African industry.

There is also potential to import cashew nuts, a variety of fresh fruit, skin creams, cocoa and cocoa-paste, and rubber. 

We can also combine our strengths to build new industries. 

Cote d’Ivoire and South Africa can pioneer high-quality African chocolate-making, bringing together your cocoa, our sugar, milk from within the continent and the production know-how of both countries. 

We can use our marketing expertise to brand these chocolates. 

Africa should be the centre of global chocolate production and distribution.

South Africa’s investment portfolio in Côte d’Ivoire is expanding. 

By way of example, in 2021 the Development Bank of Southern Africa increased its investments in Côte d’Ivoire from R2.17 billion to R3.09 billion. 

Two big South African banks, RMB and Nedbank, are financing a number of infrastructure developments in Côte d’Ivoire.

MTN’s footprint in Côte d’Ivoire is growing. 

We were pleased to be at the launch of MTN’s new head offices in Abidjan during last year’s state visit. 

Multichoice, Sanlam and Investec are among the growing number of South African companies expanding their business in Côte d’Ivoire. 

Last month, South Africa’s Department of Trade, Industry and Competition undertook an investment technical visit to Côte d’Ivoire with a group of black industrialists.  

Also last month, business leaders from South Africa attended the Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan.  We are pleased South African wines are also finding favour in Côte d’Ivoire.

Wesgro, the Western Cape’s trade and investment promotion agency, was in Abidjan in April on an export promotion mission. 

Just as there is still a great deal of work to be done to advance bilateral trade growth in terms of value, volume and composition, we need to work harder to facilitate mutual bilateral investments, particularly in infrastructure and manufacturing. 

The Memorandum of Understanding on Economic Cooperation that was signed this morning by our respective Trade and Industry Ministers is a positive step towards strengthening our economic relationship. 

I understand that both our Ministers will be meeting in Ghana next week on the African Continental Free Trade Area and that they are both committed to securing a high level of African content in automobiles and clothing and textile products. 

South Africa can use Ivorian cotton in our spinning mills or buy Ivorian textiles to make clothing here.

Like Côte d’Ivoire, South Africa has identified agriculture, infrastructure, mining, energy, transport and logistics and manufacturing as some of the key growth areas that will aid our economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

We are currently implementing a far-ranging programme of economic reforms that will catalyse greater investment in these sectors. 

The opportunities for both private and public investment in our respective countries are immense. 

Throughout our interactions, we must promote the principles of mutual benefit and empowerment.

We must focus on industrialisation and using African products and raw materials.  We must invest more in our people, particularly women, youth and rural enterprises. 

The sustainability of our growth depends on our success in empowering the majority of our population to participate in the economy.

From this Business Forum, I look forward to receiving reports of real commercial deals between our private companies, between our state-owned enterprises and between our development finance institutions.

I look forward to a new era of trade, commerce and investment between South Africa and Côte d'Ivoire.

I thank you.