South African Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Senzeni Zokwana South African Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Senzeni Zokwana said, they are interested in having good trade relations with Maldives, in addition to cooperation in other fields, including sharing technical expertise.
Speaking on Talk Maldives Programme on PSM News, the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of South Africa, Senzeni Zokwana said that he was pleased with the news of Maldivian National Carrier, Island Aviation beginning operations to Johannesburg in September.
Citing that South Africa produces a lot of vegetables which could be imported to Maldives once flight operations are launched between the two countries, he said that flight operations would open up many avenues, especially in trade. This venture would go both ways, with South Africa also buying goods produced in Maldives, he added. Minister Zokwana said, starting a direct line of flight would be beneficial for tourism sector as well.
"And I believe that, depending on their arrangement we need to come into, because we produce a lot of vegetables, and I believe if we export them to Maldives they will arrive here still fresh because it will be a shorter route than it has been before, and I think there is a room for discussions because we produce most of cassava products, that can be accessed by Maldives government from our own country. But all those things would need to be taken into account. And of course we would like to exchange, because in my belief that there should be an intra-trade, it's not going to be helpful, if we only supply Maldives with what we produce, and we don't buy from Maldives." the African Minister said.
Speaking about Maldivian tuna cans which were introduced in Woolworths in South Africa in March 2017, Minister Zokwana said that it was well accepted by consumers as canned tuna is scarce in South Africa.
Maldives and South Africa can exchange expertise in vessel building, which would greatly benefit South Africa, he further noted. There can be further areas of exchange, he added. Maldives and South Africa can cooperate in the international arena, Minister Zokwana said citing that both countries could cooperate with each other in the United Nations Security Council and other platforms, and they can play a role in putting forth issues and ambitions of each other.