This was the first visit to Africa by UK Minister for Trade Policy Douglas Alexander, which forms part of the UK Government's wider resetting of partnerships with Africa, which the Foreign Secretary set out in November during his visits to Nigeria and South Africa.
UK Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security, Douglas Alexander, travelled to South Africa and Botswana to strengthen trade links and create opportunities for both African and UK businesses.
He is the first Minister from the UK's Department for Business and Trade to travel to the continent since the UK election, which took place last summer.
The UK is seeking to deepen trade and investment across the continent and drive mutually beneficial growth in both the UK and Africa, including by making progress on removing barriers to trade to help businesses export more easily and providing UK support to trade for development programmes across the continent.
During his trip, the Trade Policy Minister co-chaired the first Southern African Custom Union and Mozambique (SACUM) - UK Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) Joint Council. The Economic Partnership Agreement underpins all goods trade with the UK and SACUM members. The Joint Council discussed where there is potential to strengthen our trade and investment partnerships and support economic growth across all member countries.
He met with South Africa's Minister for Trade Industry and Competition, Parks Tau, South Africa's Agriculture Minister, John Steenhuisen, as well as Botswana's Vice-President and Trade Minister, Ndaba Gaolathe, to discuss areas for future growth in key sectors including infrastructure, energy, transport and logistics, agriculture, minerals, and the digital economy. He also met with UK and South African companies and took part in a CEO roundtable, where he was seeking views from the private sector to help inform the Government's cross-continent reset and wider trade strategy.
Trade Policy Minister, Douglas Alexander said:
The Government is taking a fresh approach to Africa, one which prioritises genuine partnerships, mutual benefit, and sustainable development. My visit is an important step in building new, long-lasting relationships in South Africa and Botswana.
South Africa is our largest trading partner in Africa, with an exciting period ahead as the country assumes the G20 Presidency. Both of our Governments are laser focused on economic growth - this shared ambition is a powerful motivator for greater bilateral trade.
Mutual economic growth is also at the forefront of the UK's relationship with Botswana. There is a huge opportunity for us to collaborate on sectors important to our economies including renewable energy and I look forward to continuing to strengthen our ties.
Minister Alexander emphasised the UK's support for South Africa's Presidency of the G20 this year and reaffirmed the UK Government's commitment to building mutually beneficial partnerships with African countries. This follows on from the UK Foreign Secretary's recent visit to the continent in November 2024, during which he agreed to develop a UK-South Africa Growth Plan.
