Cabinet has welcomed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent successful working visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
During last week’s visit, the two countries signed 17 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) in various fields such as agriculture, fisheries, mining, renewable energy, security, transport and aquaculture.
Other MOUs signed are on the establishment of a Joint Business Council, cooperation in the field of military industries and procurements, and on geological survey cooperation.
Addressing a media briefing on Thursday, Minister in The Presidency, Mondli Gungubele, said the President also used the visit to invite Saudi Arabia businesses to South Africa’s fifth Investment Conference, which will be held in 2023.
“Saudi Arabia is South Africa’s second largest trading partner in the Middle East and the largest source of imports from the region. International relations between both countries have resulted in a positive effect on trade and investment trends,” Gungubele said.
He made these remarks during a media briefing on the outcomes of the Cabinet meeting that was held on Wednesday.
Food security
As part of efforts to prioritise food security, the Department of Science and Innovation’s Agricultural Bio-economy Innovation Partnership Programme, in collaboration with the University of Pretoria, recently launched the National Biosecurity Hub.
Cabinet has welcomed this initiative, as it will support the prevention, reduction and management of crop and animal disease, which will contribute to increased productivity, food security and sustainable rural development.
The hub was unveiled during the Agri SA Congress 2022, which was held under the theme, ‘Growing Local’, in Pretoria last week.
The congress engaged on issues such as making agriculture masterplans work for local growers; sustainable infrastructure for locally grown food; making the local environment sustainable for local food production into the future, and strengthening food producers’ capacity to process locally grown produce.
