Mpumalanga province might partner with Oman - Premier Mabuza
25 November 2013
Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza today [Monday, 25 November 2013] welcomed a delegation from the Sultanate of Oman which is in the province on a three-day tour to explore possibilities of cooperation on agriculture.
Speaking after a courtesy meeting with the delegation, Premier Mabuza said Mpumalanga might cooperate with the Oman in terms of supplying an oil rich country with food.
He said, Mpumalanga would be ready to enter into an agreement with Oman on a number of areas after their tour to various agricultural projects, but would focus mainly on agriculture.
The Oman delegation will be visiting various agricultural projects in the next three days in the province to explore and identify possible areas of cooperation between the two provinces.
Mpumalanga’s primary interest will be to respond to the import needs of the Oman government to deal with their food security challenges.
“We have noted that although they have enough oil in the Middle East, they do not have food. As Mpumalanga we stand to partner with Oman probably to export food to them.
“Through this visit, we are giving them an opportunity to interact with our farmers and the rest of the agricultural sector while they explore ideas on areas of cooperation with us,” said Mabuza.
He added that in the near future, the provincial government would create a platform for business people to invest in order for the Mpumalanga to produce more food in response of Oman’s needs.
He assured the delegation that although South Africa was preparing for the general elections, they should not worry about whether the ruling party would still be in power and whether the new leadership in government would continue with the relations.
“You need not worry on whether you might or not find us after the elections, the ruling party is very much confident that it will win the elections. Of course we have our own problems, but definitely you will find this collective after the elections.
“Even if it will not be me leading the provincial government, there will still be an element of continuity. Let us therefore continue with our deliberations, the ruling party is confident it will win the elections,” said Mabuza.
Meanwhile the leader of Oman delegation Dr Ishaq Ahmed Mohamed Al-Roqishi said their visit was focusing mainly on agricultural and environmental issues.
“We would like to observe some of this province’s success stories as we hope to identify some key issues for future cooperation.
“We have agriculture in our country but at a very small scale, we are therefore here to explore and establish some kind of cooperation with Mpumalanga,” said Dr Al-Roqishi.
Dr-Roqishi added that the Oman government had established a holding company which is responsible for agricultural investment opportunities with other countries, it would come to later Mpumalanga to strengthen the trade relations.
He said they were looking forward to tour the projects in order to decide on areas of cooperation with Mpumalanga.
Issued by Zibonele Mncwango
Spokesperson: Mpumalanga Premier
Mpumalanga Provincial Government
Office of the Premier
Tel: (013) 766 2453
Mobile: 079 4910163
E-mail: zmncwango@mpg.gov.za
