PRESIDENT ZUMA ADDRESSES HEADS OF MISSION CONFERENCE

“Our Heads of Mission should prepare themselves for vigorous marketing and trade promotion over the next five years,” President Zuma said.

President Jacob Zuma told South African ambassadors and high commissioners stationed abroad to continue telling the country’s good story of success, while marketing the country’s goods and services.

Given all the global and national economic complexities, he said, the country needed its ambassadors to work harder to ensure that South Africa became a preferred destination for any prospective tourist and also for business.

“We want more markets for South African goods abroad and we want more investments to flow towards South Africa. We want you to play your role in this regard,” he said on 31 August at the 2014 Heads of Mission Conference at the OR Tambo Building in Pretoria.

The new Government, he said, had continued to put the economy as the apex priority in the next five years with the growth target set for 5% by 2019. The efforts, he said, would be promoting a positive environment for economic growth and development in order to address poverty, unemployment and inequality.

He said missions should gear themselves to support the economic cluster and the country’s business community in opening up opportunities for engagement. The President said he intended meeting with business soon to discuss this matter. “Nothing is impossible if we work together, putting our country first.”

Read more: http://www.dirco.gov.za/dircoenewsletter/newsflash131-05-09-2014.html

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