SA, Poland agree to up trade relations, tourism

Kgalema Motlanthe. Image: GCIS

Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, who held discussions with visiting Polish Prime Minister Donald Franciszek Tusk in Pretoria on Thursday (17 October), said South Africa regarded Poland as a key partner in Pretoria's on-going bid to attract more foreign investors from the European market.

Polish-SA relations have entered a new phase since the fall of apartheid in South Africa. Poland is regarded as one of the countries in central Europe with great strategic importance to SA. Poland is not only one of the strongest partners in the political and economic arenas in central Europe, but also an emerging power in the European Union.

The two told reporters at a joint press conference that the discussions covered a range of issues including transport, agriculture, rural development, energy and telecommunications.

"What was most pleasing about the discussions is that we were able to share similarities between the two countries and discussed co-operation. We've also looked into maritime, in terms of exchanging skills in ship building and agreed to co-operate in all of these sectors," Motlanthe said.

The sentiment was echoed by Franciszek Tusk who said South Africa remained a model for the world both in terms of transformation of its society and its economic progress. Speaking through an interpreter, he suggested that Poland and South Africa were somehow connected by history.

"The large Polish community in South Africa is proof of our historic similarities, common political interest and the ties we have always shared," he said.

Trade between Poland and SA

Trade between South Africa and Poland grew from R2.6bn in 2006 to R6.3bn in last year. Imports from Poland increased from R1.3bn to R4.6bn during that period.

Motlanthe said South African companies have shown considerable interest in the Polish economy, with significant investments in Poland's beverages, paper, furniture, manufacturing, retail and distribution sectors, including media and communications, among others.

A number of Polish companies are investing and exploring investment opportunities in the aviation, cosmetics, glassware, hospitality, heavy industrial equipment, mining and pharmaceutical sectors.

But at least one minister believes the numbers could be increased tremendously, considering Poland's solid economic position in Europe.

"There is still more we can do to promote trade. From our point of view, our interest is in promoting more South African exports to Poland," said Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies.

He told SAnews that South Africa has not been particularly impressed with the fact that trade with Poland has not only been volatile recently but that there was an imbalance which favoured Poland.

"One of the issues and challenges that we face is establishing proper transport logistics and proper shipping line connections because at the moment, too many of our products are dependent on middlemen in other countries," Davies said.

"We think that business-to-business contacts are important. So this agreement gives us an institutional, structured way of enhancing our co-operation," Davies added.

He said two other agreements will be signed between the investment promotion and development finance institutions from both countries to build stronger trade and investment co-operation.