Photo by: Keith Campbell
Following a successful appearance at the Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) 2014 Exhibition, which led to a number of British and South African companies signing partnership agreements, Britain's Defence and Security Organisation (DSO), a unit of the Department of International Trade, is seeking to build on this success at AAD 2016.
"South Africa is our priority market in the [African] region," highlighted DSO regional director for Europe, Africa, the Middle East and South and Central Asia Sophie Lane at a press conference at AAD 2016 on Wednesday.
She also pointed out that another objective of their participation in the 2014 exhibition was to spotlight that South African companies could bid for British defence contracts, and to explain how to go about this. Since then, a number of South African companies had registered with the UK Ministry of Defence and are now bidding for contracts. (The website is www.contracts.mod.uk and the contract information is now made available for free.)
"It's a real partnership, a two-way street," she affirmed. The British are hoping to build on the partnerships that were already in place. "We've got 27 companies here. We had a lot less two years ago." While some of these companies are represented on the DSO stand, others are hosted on the stands of South African companies, testifying to the partnerships that have been created over the last couple of years. These partnerships also serve to support South African companies in export markets.
"We've also increased our discussions with the [South African] government," reported Lane. "We've been having really good discussions with Armscor and with the Department of Defence." There have been a number of visits to South Africa by Royal Navy ships, which have showcased British capabilities.
British border security technologies have also been shown to South Africa. One aim is to identify those areas where British technologies can complement South African technologies.