The Australian Business Chamber of Commerce Southern Africa (ABCSA) would deepen the bilateral relationship between Australia and the Southern African countries by providing a networking platform to develop their business activities and promote trade, ABCSA inaugural chairperson Michael Templeton said at the nonprofit organisation’s inauguration last month.

South Africa and Australia already enjoyed strong trade and investment ties, said Australian high commissioner to South Africa Graeme Wilson, who, along with Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu, officially inaugurated the ABCSA at a ceremony held in Johannesburg.

South Africa is Australia’s largest trade and investment partner in Africa, although commercial links between Australia and several other African countries are increasing.

“The two-way trade with South Africa, accounting for about A$3.2-billion, represents about 27% of Australia’s total African trade, with two-way investment of A$5-billion focused on the mining sector.

“In light of this, there is still considerable scope to build on those figures and diversify the trade and investment links,” said Wilson.

Shabangu agreed, adding that the establishment of the ABCSA would provide room for improvement in the existing trade and investment sphere.

Australia’s links with South Africa extended well beyond trade and investment, said Wilson, as further links between the two countries included extensive people-to-people links and sport and cultural links, as well as shared values such as democracy, equality, human rights and respect for the rule of law.

Shabangu reiterated that the strong people-to-people ties between the countries also meant that there was a natural desire to strengthen the countries’ bilateral relations in all spheres.

Wilson noted that the two countries’ economies also depended heavily on commodities, with striking similarities in climate and landscape.

Speaking to Mining Weekly last month, he highlighted that there were more than 200 Australian companies, with more than 700 projects in mining exploration, extraction and processing, operating in 42 African countries.

“The ABCSA will draw on the large number of Australian mining companies that have business interests in Southern Africa and a range of businesses in other sectors, such as agriculture, infrastructure and education,” Wilson said, noting that Australian companies brought advanced technology and high standards of occupational health and safety to Africa but, above all, they were committed to working in partnership with local communities, which included upskilling the local workforce.

All of the shared strategic interests between Australia and South Africa were creating opportunities for a significant increase in bilateral engagement and high-level political visits, noted Wilson.

He noted that this engagement between the countries would add further political energy to what was already “a substantive and diverse bilateral partnership”.

Australia will also feature prominently at the 2014 Investing in African Mining Indaba, which will take place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from February 3 to 6.

Premier of Western Australia Colin Barnett will join Shabangu and other political and business leaders as one of the keynote speakers at the event.

The Mining Indaba will provide an opportunity for Australian companies to showcase their expertise and discuss investment projects with African Mining Ministers and senior officials.

Further, the Australian government and Australian companies aim to increase economic growth and development benefits from their mining sector and they see increasing opportunities for Australia to support public–private sector partnerships in skills development, particularly in mining and infrastructure.

Templeton, currently also international contractor Leighton Africa’s finance and administration regional manager, pointed out that ABCSA membership was not limited to Australian and South African nationals – businesses based in Southern Africa with interests in Australia are also welcome to join.

Membership of the ABCSA currently includes multinational companies, small and medium-size enterprises and individuals.

Membership benefits include being part of an active board that functions in the same way as other business chambers, internationally and externally. A person can be part of working group committees to promote and address issues within a given industry, including mining, infrastructure, small and medium-size enterprises and tourism, besides others.

Being a member of the ABCSA ensures direct access to embassies; expertise, knowledge and assistance to help to promote or set up a business in Southern Africa; networking; and opportunities to participate in discussions relevant to a particular industry.

Templeton said there had been a growing need across various industries to create a business group with an Australian flavour and that the ABCSA was a suitable platform that provided a stepping stone to help businesses get established, access relevant information and network with other businesses that had similar synergies.