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4 May 2008

Pretoria: South African President and Mrs Thabo Mbeki will on Monday, 5 May 2008, depart for Doha, Qatar where he is scheduled to pay a State Visit from Tuesday, 6 May 2008 to Wednesday, 7 May 2008.

President Thabo Mbeki's delegation is expected to include, among others, Ministers Mosiuoa Lekota, Mandisi Mpahlwa, Buyelwa Sonjica, Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad and South Africa's Ambassador to Qatar Vincent Zulu.

Senior business representatives from, amongst others, Ukubona Holdings, the Industrial Development Co-operation, Trade and Investment KwaZulu-Natal, National African Federated Chambers of Commerce, Sekunjalo Investment, the National Empowerment Fund, Bravura Empowerment, Coega Industrial Development Zone, Tristar Holdings, Universal Natural Gas (UniGAS), PetroSA, and Standard Bank will also accompany the government delegation.

President Thabo Mbeki and his high powered government and business delegation will visit Qatar within the context of South Africa’s priority to consolidate bilateral political, economic and trade relations with Qatar with a view to advancing South-South co-operation.

Accordingly, in bilateral discussions with His Highness Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar on Tuesday 6 May 2008, discussions are expected to include, among others:
* The status of bilateral political, economic and trade relations between South Africa and Qatar.
* A briefing by President Mbeki on the status of conflict resolution and peacekeeping in Africa including an update on the situation in Sudan and Somalia.
* A briefing by the Amir on developments in the region including the conflict between Israel and Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Iran.
* Qatari support for Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA) and Joint Initiative on Priority Skills Acquisition (Jipsa) programmes.
* Other issues of mutual interest including the comprehensive reform of the United Nations.

President Thabo Mbeki is also expected to participate in a South Africa–Qatar Business Seminar on Wednesday, 7 May 2008.

President Thabo Mbeki is expected to return to South Africa on Thursday, 8 May 2008.

Bilateral economic relations

The US$900mn Oryx Gas-to-Liquid plant is a joint venture between Sasol and Qatar Petroleum. It is one of the largest joint venture projects involving a South African company in the Middle East. The project has enhanced South Africa's stature as world-leader in the field and a reliable technology partner.

Even though Qatar has a relatively small population, it nevertheless boasts one of the highest per capita incomes in the world. Qatar is strategically of great importance to South Africa as it contains oil reserves of 15,21 billion barrels, while its natural gas reserves exceed 25 trillion cubic meters.

Investment from Qatar into South Africa and Africa

The Qatar Investment Authority had invested US$400 million in an investment fund, the PME Infrastructure Management Limited Fund. This fund is listed on the London Securities Market. The fund is investing in infrastructure in Africa and is concentrating on the areas of transportation, communication and energy. According to the Government of Qatar, the fund gives priority to investments in South Africa, as it is the most suitable country to invest in compared to other African countries. This fund is considered to be the first investment by the Qatar Investment Authority in South Africa.

Investment into Qatar from South Africa

South African companies have been fairly successful in obtaining contracts for major projects in Qatar. Sasol and Qatar Petroleum entered into a US$900 million joint venture gas-to-liquid facility at Ras Lafan. The plant was inaugurated on 6 June 2006 by Minister of Minerals and Energy Buyelwa Sonjica.

Qatar hosted the Asian Games in December 2006 and several South African construction companies have benefited from infrastructure projects related to the Games. Foremost among these is Murray and Roberts, which finished construction of the multipurpose Khalifa Stadium in Doha in June 2005.

Genrec of South Africa was awarded a R200 million contract to supply all the structural steel for this project. Future infrastructure and development projects in Qatar over the next few years are likely to be substantial. These include new oil and gas facilities, ports, an airport, several new roads, hotels, museums and residential compounds, all offering opportunities for South Africa.

South Africa's trade with Qatar

Year: 2002
SA exports: R46 565 197
SA imports: R429 545 033
Total trade: R476 110 230

Year: 2003
SA exports: R55 087 759
SA imports: R344 187 993
Total trade: R 399 275 752

Year: 2004
SA exports: R66 574 978
SA imports: R 684 211 845
Total trade: R750 786 823

Year: 2005
SA exports: R78 509 086
SA imports: R911 948 887
Total trade: R990 457 973

Year: 2006
SA exports: R148 293 200
SA imports: R1 221 878 660
Total trade: R1 370 171 860

Year: 2007
SA exports: R261 882 837
SA imports: R744 130 520
Total trade: R1 006 013 357

Top five products imported and exported in 2007

Exports to Qatar
* Chemical products
* Machinery and mechanical appliances
* Transport equipment
* Base metals
* Machinery

Imports from Qatar
* Chemical products
* Plastic products
* Transport equipment
* Animal products
* Paper products

Tourism statistics

January to December 2005
Visitors: 493

January to December 2006
Visitors: 407

Enquiries:
Ronnie Mamoepa
Cell: 082 990 4853

Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
4 May 2008