As part of a renewed strategy to intensify trade relations with the continent and further strengthen its export-led economy, Canada has announced the “revitalisation” of the South Africa-Canada Chamber of Business (SACCB) and the establishment of Export Development Canada’s (EDC’s) first African office, in Johannesburg.

The SACCB, which had been in existence for several years but had recently become inactive owing to its lack of a permanent office and staff complement, would provide a forum for Canadian companies and investors in South Africa to increase their profile in the country and promote networking and partnerships with South African firms.

The bilateral chamber would present a “collective voice” for Canadian firms, keeping its members informed of any local policy and regulatory amendments that may affect their local interests, while advocating on their behalf.

Canadian International Trade Minister Ed Fast, who led a Southern African-focused trade delegation of Canadian companies active in the extractives and energy sectors, said last week that the two countries’ newly strengthened trade relationship was poised to considerably boost yearly bilateral trade.

According to Fast, trade between South Africa and Canada totalled some $1.2-billion in 2013 – a figure he described as “modest”.

“South Africa is Canada’s most important com-mercial and political partner in Africa and is the only country in Africa – and one of only 20 around the world – to be identified by our government’s recent Global Markets Action Plan (GMAP) as an ‘emerging market with broad Canadian interests’,” he noted at the launch event, in Johannesburg.

The 2013 GMAP outlined “the markets that mattered” to Canadian businesses, outlining a strategy to ensure the advancement of Canada’s interests in those markets.

Fast added that Canadian firms were, thus, cognisant of South Africa’s global economic relevance, its leadership role in Africa and its role as a member of the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, or Brics, grouping.

“Canadians do understand the importance of South Africa,” he commented.

Interestingly, Fast added that the SACCB would be administered by the local office of the US’s American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), representing the first trade collaboration of its kind between the two North American States in South Africa.

While AmCham would investigate oppor-tunities in which the US and Canadian trade chambers had common interests, each would maintain its independence.

“In as much as we compete against each other, Canada and the US are also highly integrated and, as North American partners, there is more that we can do together than alone,” Fast said.

Further bolstering Canada’s African trade ambitions, the newly established local branch of the EDC would focus on connecting more Canadian businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, to the growing supply chains in intra-African trade.

“When most Canadian businesses look to South Africa, they see a country so far away they think it’s impossible to trade with it. The EDC will change that,” Fast explained.