“We view the DRC as a strategic partner on the continent”
The South African Department of Trade and Industry is bringing a large delegation of South African suppliers to the mining and related sectors to the DRC Mining Week expo and conference that is taking place in the DRC mining hub of Lubumbashi from 8-9 June.
DRC a strategic partner “South Africa is committed to the implementation of the SADC Industrialization Strategy and Roadmap and increasing partnerships with DRC in advancing the Agenda 2063 as well as the fourth industrial revolution,” says Ms Pumla Ncapayi, Deputy Director-General: Trade and Investment South Africa at the Department of Trade and Industry.
She continues: “in this context, we view the DRC as a strategic partner on the continent and we believe that participation in the DRC Mining Week provides us with an ideal platform to expose our local businesspeople in the mining and allied industries to opportunities in the DRC especially within the infrastructure realm which has presented a myriad of opportunities for collaboration and partnerships”.
She adds that “South Africa is steadfast in its commitment towards creating tangible partnerships with the DRC so as to ensure that the DRC develops into a key driver of Africa’s economic development with its vast water resources and its untapped mineral reserves which are of global importance.”
Win-win relationship with the DRC Fifteen companies were selected for the DRC Mining Week comprising seven SMMEs and eight large companies. According to Ms Ncapayi: “the group of companies that were selected conforms to criteria such product/service suitability and compatibility for the event, capacity to export, competitive positioning and the companies’ marketing strategies and plans.
Some companies have strong competitive advantages in areas deemed relevant for the mining industry in the DRC and we wish to engage in a process of technology transfers and initiating partnerships to this end. We believe that this collaboration is vital in attaining a win-win relationship with the DRC.” The companies exhibiting at DRC Mining Week 2016 are: Afgen African Mixing Technologies AJ Charnaud & Co.