ANC PROGRESSIVE BUSINESS FORUM DELEGATION VISITS RUSSIA
The ANC's Progressive Business Forum (PBF) has returned from Russia on its very first visit to the Russian Federation, with a delegation of some 50 South African business representatives. The visit included the major Russian cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg and took place last week.
The delegation to Russia was accompanied by the ANC Secretary General, Mr. Gwede Mantashe, the ANC Treasurer General, Dr. Zweli Mkhize and the Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, Mr. Obed Bapela (Who is also the Chairperson of the ANC's Committee on International Relations). The Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Mr. Senzo Mchunu, who was visiting Moscow at the same time for other commitments and also attended a special media briefing for the delegation.
The delegation arrived in Moscow on 1 October 2013, and were able to network with a delegation from KwaZulu-Natal led by Premier Mchunu, which was involved in an exhibition in Moscow at the same time.
With the direct involvement of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, the delegation met on Tuesday, 2 October 2013 at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Russia. The delegation was briefed by the Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Mr. Rinat Gizatulin, who addressed the delegation, and who pointed out the significant interest Russia had in doing business with South Africa. In welcoming the delegation, Deputy Minister Gizatulin said, inter alia, that in recent months Russia had sought to focus on any contribution it might be able to make to the challenges of power generation in South Africa.
In his response, Secretary General Mantashe, thanked the Russian side for the meeting and spoke also of the historic links between Russia and South Africa in its struggle for democracy. This history and the level of the relations between the two countries, made the visit of South African business people, an ideal opportunity to add even further substance and economic content to the relations, Secretary General Mantashe said. He added that the ANC Progressive Business Forum was a powerful vehicle for added impetus for bringing businesses from both sides together to explore business opportunities together.