Your Excellency, President Fillipe Nyusi,
Honourable Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
Ambassadors,
Captains of Industry and Commerce,
Senior Officials
Distinguished Guests
Good afternoon to you all.
 
It is a privilege and honour for me to welcome His Excellency President Filipe Nyusi and his business delegation to the South Africa-Mozambique Business Forum.
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I would also like to reiterate my sincere gratitude to His Excellency President Nyusi for accepting my invitation to undertake his first State visit to South Africa.
 
This is a significant visit in the nature of our bilateral relations as today we inaugurated the South Africa-Mozambique Bi-National Commission. This means that the structured relations between the two sister countries will now be managed and led directly by the two Heads of State.
 
Your Excellency,
Distinguished guests,
 
We meet against the background of growing economic relations between our two countries. This is not surprising given the deep historical bonds between our peoples and the two countries.
 
We were together in the trenches fighting against apartheid and colonialism.
 
It is correct that we now work together as we build a better life and promote the fight against poverty, unemployment and inequality in our respective countries.
 
In 2014, total trade between South Africa and Mozambique was recorded just below 44 billion rand, increasing from 29 billion rand in 2012. This increase is encouraging.

South Africa has emerged as the main trading partner for Mozambique and its main source of foreign direct investments.
 
Over three hundred South African companies have invested in Mozambique and our sister country is now part of the top five of South Africa’s trade partners in the region. The scope for further growth remains, which is why we have convened this business forum.

We want business from both countries to take advantage of the strong fraternal relations between our two countries to further grow relations.

Two agreements serve as a framework for economic engagement between the two countries. 

The Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments Agreement between South Africa and Mozambique, which was entered into in February 2000, serves to encourage new South African investments towards Mozambique.

The Department of Trade and Industry further entered into a Memorandum of Understanding on Economic Co-operation (MoU), signed in 2005.

Co-operation within the MoU covers a wide spectrum of areas such as technical capacity-building, industry collaboration, spatial development initiative programme implementation and trade facilitation.

To further cement relations between the two countries, the Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement and the Agreement on One Stop Border Posts were signed during the last Heads of State Bilateral Economic Forum in September 2007. 

These instruments and the BNC provide the environment for us to take relations forward.
 
We already cooperate closely in the key sectors such as energy, mineral resources, tourism, transport, communications, science and technology, environmental affairs, labour, agriculture, Arts and Culture, trade and industry.

During this visit we want to further deepen cooperation in these areas and explore others such as education, transport, communications, energy and infrastructure.
 
This expansion must be aligned to the theme of regional industrialisation.
 
This is due to the recognition that Africa must break its dependence on commodity extraction and exports that are vulnerable to price fluctuations.
 
We must shift towards greater industrial development that leads to a more sustainable economic growth path. In this regard, I am pleased that we are prioritising industrialisation at the business forum.
 
Your Excellency,
 
We are both keen to enhance relations on energy given the energy challenge facing both our countries.
 
South Africa and Mozambique boast a long standing cooperation in the field of energy.
 
The energy cooperation between the two countries is characterised by sharing of energy and power resources, focusing on power plants and related infrastructure undertaken by ESKOM and EDM, as well as the natural gas business to advance the development of gas to power projects.
 
Mozambique offers great possibilities considering the newly discovered gas reserves.
Our Ministers will ensure the implementation of our agreements in the energy sectors, particularly in oil and gas sectors.
 
There are opportunities for South African companies to enter the Mozambique hydrocarbons sector in ways beneficial to both countries.
 
Your Excellency,
 
Cooperation in infrastructure development and efforts to enhance regional integration remains critical.
 
Our two countries are working together in the development of five spatial development corridors. These are the Maputo Development Corridor, the Beira SDI, the Limpopo Valley SDI, the Zambezi Valley SDI as well as the Nacala Development Corridor.
 
The initiatives are testaments to the regional integration efforts which are key to Africa’s Development agenda for intra-Africa trade.
We want to take further cooperation in the field of tourism, and also in particular in protecting our wildlife and fighting wildlife crimes.
 
Our two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on co-operation in the fields of biodiversity conservation and management last year.

The agreement is aimed at promoting cooperation in the field of biodiversity management, conservation and protection, law enforcement and compliance with all relevant legislation and conventions in an effort to strengthen the combating of rhino poaching and to improve law enforcement. 
 
Both the South African and Mozambican authorities finalised and signed the Implementation Plan for the MoU and are implementing key activities as agreed in the Implementation Plan.
 
Your Excellency,
 
Opportunities will not be translated into economic realities if the appropriate funding is not provided to support mega infrastructural development programmes, especially in energy transport, construction, telecommunications and other resource based industries.
 
We are pleased that the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) has supported various projects in Mozambique.

The IDC has provided more than three billion rand for a number of projects.
 
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
 
There are vast opportunities to be explored in the two countries.
 
Our business sectors in the two countries should take advantage of the warm political and historical relations between the two countries to expand and grow your businesses in the two countries, for the benefit of all our peoples.
 
Let me once again thank His Excellency President Nyusi for accepting my invitation to undertake this state visit to South Africa.
 
This is a wonderful visit by comrades and friends with whom we share a deep history of struggle and comradeship. We are happy indeed to host you Your Excellency and the Mozambican business delegation.
 
We expect positive results from engagements at this business forum.
 
I thank you.

 
Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria