South Africa, Iran to host business forum in Pretoria

Jacob Zuma, South Africa President

The Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) together with their Iranian counterparts will host the South Africa-Iran Business Forum at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) offices in Pretoria on Monday, 23 October 2017 from 9am.

The forum will be held on the margins of the Joint Commission co-chaired by the Minister of DIRCO, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane and her Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif.

According to the Minister of Trade and Industry, Rob Davies, the business forum will address amongst others: trade, investment, economic development and industry related issues.

“The Middle East features as a pivotal trade and investment partner for South Africa and Iran in particular offers vast trade and investment opportunities for South African businesses. Iran is the second largest economy in the Middle East region in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) totalling US$438 billion in 2016 and the largest market in terms of population (80 million people). It ranks second in the world in terms of natural gas reserves and fourth in proven crude oil reserves,” said Davies.

The Iranian delegation will consist of business representatives from the automotive, agriculture, agro-processing, mining, energy, pharmaceuticals and, oil and gas.