BRANCH: AMERICAS AND THE CARIBBEAN

PRESENTATION TO THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

AND COOPERATION

WEDNESDAY, 30 JULY 2014

Cape Town

1

COUNTRIES: AMERICAS AND THE CARIBBEANCOUNTRIES: AMERICAS AND THE CARIBBEAN

Page Page 22

The entire Branch: Americas and Caribbean - 35 States ranging from:

Smallest

• Grenada: 104 000 people

• St Kitts and Nevis: 39 000 people

Poorest

• Haiti: GDP $615 per capita

(LDC Status)

Biggest

• USA: 307 million people

• Brazil: 197 million people

Richest

• USA: GDP $14.6 trillion

• Canada: GDP $1.57 trillion

OVERVIEW• The Branch: Americas and the Caribbean is guided by three high-level objectives, namely Strengthening South-South relations, Strengthening relations with strategic formations of the North and Strengthening Political and Economic relations.

OFA / Restructuring: Adjust our Functional Structure to our Mandate and to

ensure better workload distribution.

3

1. USA : Washington DC, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles

2. Argentina: Buenos Aires

3. Brazil: Brasilia, Sao Paulo

4. Canada: Ottawa, Toronto

5. Chile: Santiago

6. Cuba: Havana

7. Jamaica: Kingston

8. Mexico: Mexico City

9. Peru: Lima

10. Trinidad &Tobago: Port-of-Spain

11. Uruguay: Montevideo

12. Venezuela: Caracas

Page Page 44

MISSIONS: AMERICAS AND THE CARIBBEANMISSIONS: AMERICAS AND THE CARIBBEAN

Role of the Branch: Americas and The Caribbean

• Strengthen bilateral relations: Continuous engagement and collaboration with North America as well as Latin American and Caribbean countries with focus to implement South Africa’s foreign policy objective.

• Focus on Economic Ties: Incorporation of growth path elements, specifically: Job drivers such as increased exports of green technology, agriculture value chain (e.g. Cooperation with Brazil and Argentina), manufactured goods, mining value-added products (e.g. cooperation with Chile);

• Duly explore the vast opportunities presented by the energy/mining sectors of the LAC region to the benefit of South Africa’s objective to diversify sources of energy and attain energy security;

• Effective utilisation of tourism and sporting links to strengthen and enhance bilateral relations;

• Intergovernmental Cooperation: Continue to improve cooperation with all spheres of South African government’s involvement in the entire region.

• People-to-people contact: Strengthen and expand relationships with non-state actors (South African citizens in the Americas, private sector, NGOs, media and civil society);

• Optimally use the opportunities presented by synergies in policy development, specifically as it relates to socio-economic issues, food security and social cohesion

5

ACHIEVEMENTS AND CHALLENGES

Achievements

- Steady growth in visits and bilateral contact with the region. President, Ministers and Deputy Ministers on separate visits to the region. Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Colombia, Cuba, US

- Areas of growth in value-added Trade (exports) and Tourism.

-Successful alignment of our bilateral agenda with domestic Strategic Priorities, for example in the field of Health with Cuba (increased medical students intake to 1800).

Challenges:

•Insufficient resources made available in order to optimally engage and to duly capitalise on opportunities available and improve SA’s footprint in the region. Unfunded mandate.

•Schedule of Principals;

•Drug trafficking and security negatively affecting operational environment and putting stress on resources of Missions, specifically consular services.

•To ensure that bilateral relations are not neglected as a result of trilateral and multilateral commitments.

•Vast region with differing realities – approach of “one size fits all” not possible.

6

7

Mining: countries of interest:

• Canada: Key source in world for mining finance and major investor in SA mines• USA: Key source of FDI • Venezuela, Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Brazil, Chile: Opportunities for SA mining,

both taken up and potential. We promote capital equipment exports that follow the presence of these companies in such countries.

Energy: Countries of interest:

• Brazil, Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago: Potential for SA involvement in oil, gas, gas-to-liquid, coal-to-liquid and oil storage (in SA)

• USA: Significant SASOL investment in gas-to-liquid; “Power Africa”; renewable energy technology

Key areas of interest for SA

• Increased trade : Exports. We support TISA in their ITI s; advocacy for extension of AGOA for 15 years

• Increased investment in SA, example of Argentine citrus growing companies; over 600 US companies contributing to over 125, 000 jobs

• Increased joint ventures in Africa, for example Vale (Brazil) and ARM (SA) in Zambia.

• Increased tourism to SA. Brazil overtook Canada as 12 th largest source of inbound tourism. Since 2012 FIFA World Cup, tourism figures from the US have been on an upward swing

• Increased aid : health and education sectors such as PEPFAR and USAID

• Increased training opportunities Cuban medical doctors, YALI (Mandela Washington Fellowship)

• North America is an important player in the formations of the North (G8, NAFTA, Commonwealth) and remains influential in global governance formations (UN, G20, World Bank, WTO, WEF)

Branch Support for Strategic Priorities

8

South Africa’s Exports to the Americas2008 to 2013

as contributing to delivering on the high-level objectives/themes. Challenge :Maritime links

Figures obtained from the South African Revenue Service 18 January 2013Figures in R(Million)

South Africa’s Imports from the Americas 2008 to 2013

as contributing to delivering on the high-level objectives of Job Creation

Figures obtained from the South African Revenue ServiceFigures in R(Million)

Americas Tourism Statisticsas contributing to delivering on the high-level objective of job creation. Challenge: Air links.

Figures obtained from STATSSA

• Closer strategic cooperation between DIRCO; the Department of Trade and Industry; the Department of Mineral Resources; The Department of Energy and the Department of Public Enterprises is needed;

• Closer cooperation between DIRCO and the Security Cluster is needed as drug trafficking to and from the Region remains a problem;

• Regular interaction with business sector active in the Region;

• Trade and investment opportunities identified and targeted in conjunction with the Department of Trade and Industry, TISA, and other stakeholders.

• Pursuing the NDP objective of a Developmental State which i.a. implies closer and optimal working relationship with other government departments such as Treasury, Justice and DTI.

Dependency on partner Departments

12

THE END

THANK YOUGRACIAS

OBRIGADO

13