The election of President Muhammad Buhari raised the prospect of warmer relations between Africa’s two economic powers. But this has been slow in coming.

ends intro

Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba and Trade Minister Rob Davies will be among the hardest working members of President Jacob Zuma’s team in Nigeria on March 8.

They’ll be dealing, respectively,  with visa issues and the tough government stance on the more than 150 South African businesses in Nigeria.

Zuma will also be looking to establishing better defense ties and common positions on international relations with Nigeria at the African Union and United Nations.

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Trade minister Rob Davies says South African’s seeking to make deals with Cuba may have their payment guaranteed before shipping goods there.

South Africa’s R350 million assistance packge to Cuba dates back to President Jacob Zuma’s visit to island four years ago.

It covers grants for buying seeds and goods on the South African market.

The largest tranche is a credit line for would-be exporters.

The adjusted agreement signed by Trade minister Rob Davies and Cuban ambassador Carlos Fernando de Cassio today allows smaller South African businesses into the mix and makes the Department of International Relations and Cooperation through the African Renaissance Fund the facilitating agent.

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They’re bent on getting an extension to the African Growth and Opportunity Act giving preferential access of their exports to US markets.

The overwhelming bulk of South African goods going into the United States enjoy the benefits of AGOA.

Not surprisingly, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies, who’s at the table in Washington for South Africa is pushing for a 15 year extension of the mechanism – without any new conditionality.

President Barak Obama can state his intention of doing this. But final word goes to Congress that has an altogether less romantic view of Africa than he does and has a multitude of local interests to consider.

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…according to Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies who says they’ve been invited to strengthen and deepen relations with the United States.

The US media is already looking criticially at who’s coming to dinner with President Barak Obama next week.

Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies says the he summit that President Barak Obama first mooted on his visit to Africa last year’s designed to expand US trade and investment with Africa.

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He says Africa’s looking at an extension of the African Growth and Opportunity act which is the cornerstone of US relations with Sub Sahara Africa.

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He says government continues to respect labour rights and will do what has to be done to ensure peaceful resolution of disputes.

Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies accepts labour unrest in South Africa might come up during the US Africa summit in Washington next week.

But it’s not going to dominate the agenda.

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Davies says South Africa’s expecting President Barak Obama to announce his support of another 15 years of the African Growth and Opportunity Act without any new conditionality, giving sub Saharan countries preferential access to the US market.

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