Riyaz Patel
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni and International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor are representing South Africa at the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London.
The two Ministers will be joined by Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel at the 2020 World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, from tomorrow until Friday.
National Treasury said the two Ministers would represent South Africa at the meetings at the behest of President Cyril Ramaphosa who is not attending.
The UK-Africa Investment Summit will this year focus on four interactive sessions on sustainable finance, trade and investment, future African growth sectors, and clean energy and climate.
“Team South Africa will communicate at both the UK-Africa Investment Summit and WEF platforms the message that while South Africa faces challenges of weak economic growth and fiscal pressures, the country remains open for business as one of the best investment destinations in the world,” a press release from Treasury said.
Pretoria will also highlight the “strides being made to implement structural reforms” to ignite economic growth, ease the cost of doing business, curb government debt, and stabilize SOEs, the release added.
The 50th WEF Annual Meeting will convene under the theme ‘Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World.’
The WEF meeting will bring together 3 000 participants from around the world, who will be expected to give concrete meaning to ‘stakeholder capitalism;’ assist governments and international institutions in tracking progress towards the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals; and facilitate discussions on technology and trade governance.
Th WEF said this year’s theme is timely and speaks to complex transnational challenges faced globally, such as climate change, migration, increased geopolitical tension, and cybercrime.