South Africa and Iran have agreed to increase non-oil trade between the two countries to a billion dollars by 2020‚ President Jacob Zuma said on Sunday.
Addressing a South Africa–Iran Business Forum during a two-day state visit to Iran‚ Zuma said this had been agreed to at a meeting on Sunday with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
He added that it was imperative that the two countries focused on diversifying their respective trade baskets in favour of value-added trade.
This would add much impetus towards addressing issues of job creation as well as skills and technology transfer in both countries.
“South Africa views the Islamic Republic of Iran as a strategic trading partner within the Middle East and Central Asian regions. Within the bilateral sphere‚ South Africa and the Islamic Republic of Iran share a long historical relationship.
“Total trade‚ however‚ has unfortunately been falling over the past decade owing to‚ amongst others‚ the non-existence of banking relations between South Africa and the Islamic Republic of Iran and the various sanctions imposed by the West‚” Zuma noted.
As of 2015‚ total trade between the two countries stood at R358m‚ which did not reflect the optimal capabilities of the two economies‚ he said.
“In this regard‚ I welcome the Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of the Joint Investment Committee which puts in place‚ a measured and pragmatic form of cooperation.
“I am of the firm belief that these measures will enable us to significantly increase our levels of trade.
“I believe the MoU on Cooperation in the Field of Trade and Industry that we signed today‚ which was one of eight MoUs that were signed‚ and the accompanying Roadmap provides a good departure point for strengthening our economic cooperation. It aptly outlines the objectives that both our sides wish to achieve‚” Zuma stated.
“I‚ however‚ believe that this would not be optimally realised in the absence of your involvement‚ as the Captains of Industry. It is in this regard that I welcome the establishment of the envisaged South Africa-Iran Business Council. It is imperative that the Council members streamline their planning so as to complement the objectives of the Roadmap.
“This would translate into tangible deliverables and would add further impetus towards expanding on the economic ties between our respective business communities‚” Zuma added.