Political and economic consultations in South Africa at the level of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
27 April 2023 News
On 25—26 April 2023, a delegation led by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Velislava Petrova visited Pretoria to hold political and economic consultations with Alvin Botes, Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of South Africa. During the consultations, preparations for the visit of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria Rumen Radev to Pretoria, which is scheduled to take place in May this year, were discussed.
The two sides shared their satisfaction with the upward development of relations in all areas of mutual interest, including the increase in bilateral trade and economic exchanges in recent years. Deputy Minister Petrova highlighted the importance of Bulgaria as a gateway to the EU, Türkiye and Middle East markets, which, among other favourable factors of the business environment in Bulgaria, creates significant potential for trade and investment interest of foreign businesses, including South African companies. For his part, Alvin Botes highlighted the investment opportunities in SAR, especially in light of the prospects offered by the African Continental Free Trade Area. It was generally agreed that the organisation of a business forum in the framework of President Radev's visit would contribute to the better understanding of the business environment by potential partners and would bring new impetus to the dynamics of trade and economic cooperation. The South African side praised the development of the political dialogue between the two countries in the context of the historical relations and the support provided by our country to the struggles of the peoples of the Southern African region against apartheid and social oppression. Velislava Petrova defined South Africa as a key partner of Bulgaria in Africa, with which we share a common commitment to democratic values and governance.
During the talks, the issue of regional security in Europe and the war in Ukraine was also raised, on which both sides shared their views and positions. The Bulgarian side raised the issue of abolishing visas for short-term trips of Bulgarian citizens to the Republic of South Africa, which would contribute to the development of tourism and business contacts between the two countries.
During the visit a meeting of Deputy Minister V. Petrova with the Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competitiveness of the Republic of South Africa Fikile Majola. Both interlocutors outlined some of the priority economic sectors containing potential for deepening bilateral exchanges, such as green energy, information and communication technologies, automotive industry, pharmaceuticals, etc. Companies from these and other sectors from both countries are expected to participate in the planned bilateral business forum accompanying President Rumen Radev's visit, and concrete steps to organize the event were discussed at the meeting.
The potential for exchanges in the fields of science and innovation was a leading topic of Deputy Minister Petrova's talks at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research of the Republic of South Africa. Emphasis was placed on possible cooperation in the fields of artificial intelligence, data management, virtual reality, e-government, earth observation from space, etc. All areas were examined through the prism of their real-world applicability and taking into account the positive impact on the quality of people's lives.
The Deputy Minister of Defence and Veterans Affairs of the Republic of South Africa, Thabang Makwetla, hosted the Bulgarian delegation at the Department of Defence. The view on the need to develop the bilateral treaty base was shared and forms of cooperation promoting educational exchange, disaster management and border control were discussed.
Velislava Petrova also held a meeting with the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) agency, which provided an overview of the organisation's activities and opportunities for joint projects to address some of the challenges related to social inequalities on the African continent.
During the visit, Deputy Minister Petrova visited the Bulgarian Cultural Club in Midrand, where she got acquainted with the newly built Orthodox Church of ‘St. Ivan Rilski’ and held a meeting with representatives of the Bulgarian community. She also participated in a discussion with women entrepreneurs from the Black Business Council, with whom she exchanged views on the role of women in economic life and their empowerment. On the Bulgarian side, messages were broadcast encouraging a broad representation of women-dominated businesses in the upcoming bilateral business forum.
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