MINISTER NKOANA-MASHABANE HOSTS EUROPEAN UNION (EU) COUNTERPART

The EU is South Africa’s largest trading partner and largest foreign investor with over

2 000 EU companies operating within South Africa creating over 350 000 jobs. South Africa and the EU have strong economic relations.

The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, hosted Federica Mogherini, the High Representative of the EU on Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, for the 13th South Africa-EU Ministerial Political Dialogue meeting in Pretoria on 26 February.

The main objective of the Ministerial Political Dialogue was to assess the implementation of the SA-EU Strategic Partnership, focusing on trade and investment, support for South Africa’s key national priorities as articulated in the National Development Plan and to share views on regional and global issues to improve and advance existing relations.

The 13th SA-EU Ministerial Political Dialogue Meeting set the framework for the Seventh SA-EU Summit, which is scheduled to take place later this year in Brussels.

At the Ministerial Political Dialogue, both South Africa and the EU welcomed progress regarding the ongoing cooperation in a wide variety of areas covered by the Strategic Partnership and the Joint Action Plan.

The EU is considered the world’s largest trading bloc, generating 30% of global gross domestic product and 20% of global trade flows. It is also the world’s biggest aid donor to least developed countries, contributing approximately half of global aid.

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