The recent state visit of President Jacob Zuma to the UK created a unique forum to promote business between South Africa and Britain.

The recently concluded state visit to the United Kingdom by President Jacob Zuma also saw the largest ever delegation of South African businesses to London.

Over 200 business representatives met with almost 250 British companies during the state visit, indicating the importance of current and potential trade ties between the two countries.

More than 600 South African countries are currently invested in the UK while South African imports into Britain are more than those of the next 10 African countries combined. The UK is South Africa's largest foreign investor, as well as the biggest international patron of the country's tourism industry and between 1998 and 2008, total trade between the two countries increased by 173%.

Commencing on Wednesday 3 March, and orchestrated by the UK Trade and Industry, the UK-South Africa Business Forum was a remarkable opportunity for an interchange of business. The Forum, which was officially opened by Lord Davies of Abersoch, UK Minister of Trade, Investment and Small Business, and Hon. Dr. Rob Davies, Minister of Trade and Industry for South Africa, featured a range of speakers from both countries.

Presentations were delivered by South Africa's Minister for Energy, Hon. Dipuo Peters, and Hon. Susan Shabangu, the South African Minister for Mineral Resources. The mining industry has been the backbone of South Africa's economy and represents over half the country's exports and 18% of its corporate tax receipts.

In the lead up to the World Cup taking place in South Africa later this year, Danny Jordaan, CEO of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, delivered a detailed presentation outlining the progress made for the hosting of the event and displayed stunning images of the completed stadiums.

"I am comfortable," he said, of South Africa's ability to deliver a world-class soccer tournament. "We are in a better place than any of the previous organisers."

Following the plenary session, delegates from both countries spent the rest of the session in breakout groups that focused on key sectors including Infrastructure and Engineering, Energy, Financial Services, Natural Resources, Health, ICT and Education and Skills.

Rapporteurs were appointed from each group to summarise the findings of the group which were subsequently presented to President Zuma on the final morning of the State visit.

At this second part of the Forum, held at Draper's Hall in the heart of the City of London and hosted by the Lord Mayor of London, the joint report was presented to the President and outlined the results of an intensive week of dialogue.

The presentation by the two designated rapporteurs highlighted the key cross-cutting themes of the bilateral discussions; one of which was the positioning of both South Africa and the UK as gateways to larger markets.

As a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), South Africa offers a gateway to over 300 million people, while the UK offers entry to a European market in excess of 500 million. The issue of developing skills and harnessing the potential of young people was also highlighted as common to both countries, with vehicles such as Public Private Partnerships identified as a means of developing financing, using expertise from London and Johannesburg's financial centres.

A Plan of Action will be drawn up following the Forum to capture the specific initiatives outlined and Jerry Vilakazi, head of trade group Business Unity South Africa and one of the two rapporteurs, called for a high level business forum to oversee the implementation of the many recommendations and outcomes of the Forum.

Taking the podium, President Zuma summed up his perception of the State visit and its importance for relations between the two countries.

"The visit has certainly taken our relations to a higher level, given all the engagements we have had," he said. "South Africa attaches a great importance to the friendship and co-operation that has developed between our people, positively affecting our relations at a bilateral level."

Pointing out that the level of investment between the two countries is encouraging; the President noted that the attendance of 216 South African businesses on the State visit could lead to greater things.

"We have to ensure that the interaction produces results as we are serious about creating decent jobs back home," he said.

"We came to the UK feeling upbeat that the economic crisis is somewhat subsiding. For a country that lost close to a million jobs during recession, we have every reason to be encouraged."

The President urged the business leaders and representatives to redouble their efforts at co-operation. "Prospects are good and we should now make hay as the sun is begging to shine again."

The President touched on some of his government's priorities announced in the recent budget for South Africa, including a national health insurance review and an investment of R.8.4 billion into HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment measures. Citing South Africa's youth unemployment problems – 70% of South Africans are under the age of 35 – the President explained that the lion share of his country's budget will be spent on education.

"Among the outcomes of this visit, we agree that the UK and South Africa will work together to develop links between training and education colleges to help South Africa tackle its unemployment and skills challenges," he said.

In his address, President Zuma highlighted the importance of infrastructure to South Africa's continued growth, noting that more than R. 846 million will be spent on roads, bridges and other infrastructure during his administration.

"Our country currently looks like a huge construction site with projects going on everywhere," he said. "We will continue to spend on infrastructure well beyond the FIFA World Cup."

The country's mining sector which centres on platinum, gold and coal, employs around 500,000 people and is the main foreign exchange earner for South Africa.

The President took the opportunity to address the recent controversies on the subject of nationalization of the country's mining resources, providing a detailed explanation of the process by which the ANC decides upon its policy and how that policy, once adopted, cannot by changed except through the same process by which it was established.

"The nationalization of mines is not government policy and there is no law that authorizes the naturalization of mineral resources," he stated. While South Africa is a transparent democracy, he added, "let us not mistake an open society transparent for debate and think this is how we make policy."

"We live in a global village and some solutions to our challenges have to be global," said the President. He urged the UK and South Africa to work together towards reforming international financial institutions to make them "more effective, accountable and legitimate."

South Africa's goal, he added, is to promote the interests of Africa, in particular, and of the developing world in general. The shift in global power and the rise of China's involvement with Africa should be seen as a sign to the continent's traditional allies that business relationships need to be continuously engaged and negotiated, adding frankly that "the UK must do things differently."

President Zuma urged Britons to visit South Africa and assured the delegates that preparations to host the World Cup had enabled construction, jobs and training.

"Everything is in place for the tournament; security and other logistics have been taken care of," he said.

As he concluded his final speech of the State Visit, the President called for concrete action to follow the visit.

"We have declared 2010 to be a year of action and a year of doing things differently in our country," he said, and to ensure that "everything we do is informed by tangible outcomes and measurable outputs."

The State visit, he added, "has enabled an acceleration of our bilateral relationship" and thanked both business delegations for "a job well done."

© Images by Anton Hammerl: shootinglondon@yahoo.co.uk