President Cyril Ramaphosa said he hoped for stronger economic ties between South Africa and Uganda in the spirit of promoting the recently launched Africa Free Continental Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The president was speaking on Tuesday at the South Africa-Uganda Business Forum held in Midrand in Johannesburg soon after welcoming his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni who was on a one-day state visit to Pretoria.
“It is particularly important that we inject vigour into the operationalisation of the African Continental Free Trade Area,” Ramaphosa said.
He bemoaned the decline in volumes of trade between the two countries in 2022 compared to the previous year.
“In 2022 our two-way trade amounted to US$130 million. We should aim to more than double this to at least US$260 million within the next five years,” the host president said.
He added: “South Africa is open to increasing the quantity and diversity of products we source from Uganda because the success of intra-Africa trade hinges on each of us sourcing from one another and prioritising ‘made and grown in Africa’ products and services’.”
The president spoke of the need to increase the level of reciprocal investment and increasing levels of trade between Pretoria and Kampala, citing the “confectionary industry as one example of opportunities for the creation of new value chains.”
Building relationships between major South African food producers and Ugandan suppliers of inputs like vanilla, coffee and cocoa could provide a route to expanding into the broader consumer goods market.
Museveni spoke of the importance of strengthening existing relations between the two countries.
“The discussions we had were aimed at ensuring that people are able to do business between the two countries. Signing agreements is not enough. We need to ensure that it happens,” he said.
Museveni said South African companies were playing a major role in the growth of Ugandan companies.
NM/jn/APA