PREMIER DD MABUZA INVITES ITALY-SOUTH AFRICA SUMMIT TO BE HOSTED IN MPUMALANGA
Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza has invited the organizers of the annual Italy-South Africa Summit, the Ambrosetti Group to consider Mpumalanga Province as a venue for this summit in future.
Addressing the Ambrosetti Group of consultants today [Tuesday, 05 May 2015] Premier Mabuza said the organisers of the Summit should also consider including Mozambique, Swaziland and Zimbabwe.
“It is critical that whatever we do we also include our neighbours. South Africa is not an island and it cannot afford to develop and leave its neighbours under developed. This is creating challenges for us. We need to be sensitive to these issues” Mabuza said.
The Premier said the benefits would go to other provinces as well.
“South Africa has nine provinces who should equally benefit from these ventures,” Mabuza said.
“There are investments opportunities in tourism, agriculture, social infrastructure like health, roads and dams. We are calling on Italian investors to partner with us in realizing our socio economic development agenda of our province in particular but also of our country South Africa in general,” said Mabuza.
The organizers of the Summit told Premier Mabuza that Botswana and Zambia were already invited to the summit. The Premier asked the investment arm of the provincial government Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency to work with the Ambrosetti Group in packaging tourism infrastructure and agriculture investment opportunities that can be marketed to potential investors.
“We are building an international fresh produce market that will see small emerging farmers as well commercial farmers benefitting through this infrastructure. We are now focusing on developing our agricultural potential and we see Italy as our partner in this development.
“We think the Ambrosetti Group can assist us in leveraging investment opportunities. We have land, we can lease to potential investors who will partner with our local emerging farmers,” Premier Mabuza.
The senior partner of Ambrosetti Group Dr Paolo Borzatta invited the Premier to attend the summit in Cape Town that will take place at the beginning of October this year.
Issued by Zibonele Mncwango
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