Cyril Ramaphosa
Photo by: Reuters
Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa will this week lead a high-level government and business delegation to the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) Africa scheduled for Rwanda’s capital Kigali from Wednesday.
The Presidency on Monday said Ramaphosa will lead the delegation to the three day WEF (Africa), which is being convened under the theme “Connecting Africa’s Resources through Digital Transformation”.
The forum is expected to be attended by regional and global leaders from business, government and civil society.
The focus is on how the digital economy can act as a catalyst to drive radical structural transformation, strengthen public-private collaboration on key global and regional challenges.
“During its visit to Rwanda, the South African delegation is expected to promote South Africa as open to business and a preferred destination for investments in its interaction with regional and global business attending the Forum,” the Presidency said in a statement.
The delegation will use platforms provided by the Forum to communicate to regional and international investors a positive message that South Africa macro-economic environment remains resilient.
“In pursuit of this objective Team South Africa will reiterate to the international community the country’s commitment to the full implementation of the National Development Plan (NDP) as a cornerstone of our economy,” said the Presidency.
“In its interaction with international investors, South Africa will underline its commitment to attracting investments not only to the country but to the SADC region and indeed the entire African continent as part of advancing the objectives of the continent’s Agenda 2063.”
The World Economic Forum says Africa’s positive economic outlook is under pressure – mainly due to adverse changes in the global economy – and is expected to remain just below 5% in 2016.
The South Africa delegation will include Ministers of Finance Pravin Gordhan, Trade and Industry Rob Davies, Post and Telecommunications Siyabonga Cwele and Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe.
The business delegation on the other hand will comprise representatives of, among others, Eskom, the Industrial Development Corporation, Old Mutual and AcelorMittal.