IN preparation for the Outbound Business Mission to three African countries from  August to September this year, the Department of Trade and Industry-Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB) held an information session on Doing Business with South Africa, Mozambique, and Zambia on March 28 at the DTI-International Building in Makati City.

Speakers during the seminar included Marthinus Nicolaas Slabber, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary, Embassy of the Republic of South Africa, Manila; Philippine Honorary Consul Donald Tulcidas, Mozambique; Alona V. Obispo, country representative, Philippines-Asia, (commercial attaché); and Agnes R. Legaspi, EMB  assistant  director. All stressed the importance of partnerships that will benefit both the people of the three African countries and the Philippines.

South Africa was the largest trading partner of the Philippines among African countries and the 44th in the world in 2017. The Philippines’s total trade with South Africa last year amounted to  $171.2 million, with the Philippines as a net exporter, with export receipts valued at $117.5 million, and imports valued at $53.7 million.

Zambia and Mozambique were the Philippines’s 159th and 150th trading partners, respectively, in 2017. Unlike in South Africa, the Philippines was a net importer of these two African countries, with imports valued at $0.7 million for Mozambique and $0.3 million for Zambia.

The Philippines exported $100,000 worth of goods to Zambia and only $6,543 to Mozambique.

Slabber believed South Africa and the Philippines have a lot to learn from each other and that there were significant opportunities for closer collaboration, particularly in the areas of trade and investment.

The South African Embassy in Manila works closely with the DTI and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) in establishing a Joint Trade Committee with the Philippines.

A bilateral trade agreement is already in place and the two countries are working on exchanging a number of trade delegations during 2018.

The activity was attended by 78 participants from the private sector, the academe, and other government agencies.