South Africa seeks to boost $25bn Southeast Asian trade ties with new deals
This was President Cyril Ramaphosa’s key takeaway following his recent visit to Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia — a trip that signalled a new chapter of deepening economic partnership between South Africa and the region.
In line with this ambition, South Africa is working closely with the three nations to establish free trade agreements aimed at expanding investment flows and diversifying export markets.
The discussions mark a strategic pivot toward strengthening South Africa’s trade footprint in one of the world’s most dynamic economic regions, underlining a shared commitment to boost trade, stimulate growth and build long-term commercial ties.
“We, as South Africa will also focus on the regulatory framework, [and] remove the various barriers. All three countries expressed a view to have a free trade agreement with South Africa which we are going to be working on very closely,” President Ramaphosa said.
The future agreements will be founded on a vision of mutual prosperity with increased trade and investment flowing both ways.
“We already export products like coal to some of these countries. We already export fruit and a number of agricultural products. They export technology to us, a number of finished goods and we want to broaden that. We want to make sure that we export more and more to them, and they export more to us.
“South Africa is the most industrialised country [in Africa] and therefore, a gateway into the African continent and all three countries confirmed that they see South Africa as the manufacturing hub…the industrial hub of the African continent and a trade way into the rest of the continent.
“In the end, we have great complementarities. We do not compete with any of the three countries that we visited,” he said.
The visit to Southeast Asia – set amidst increasing global uncertainty – was a strategic mission aimed at deepening ties, solidifying and renewing tapering relations as well as expanding trade.
“We came to this region to diversify our markets – faced with the challenges that many countries are now faced with of tariff impositions.
“These three countries, we’ve had economic and trade dealings with. But our mission in coming this time was to broaden those ties, deepen those ties and to revive old relationships at an investment level, business level and a trade level.
“We do believe that we’ve been hugely successful,” he said.
Historical bonds
Beyond the economics, the journey to Southeast Asia provided a reminder of the deeply profound and enduring historical bonds linking the four nations.
The region supported the anti-apartheid struggle, and South Africa is home to the descendants of peoples of Malaysia and Indonesia who were brought to the country by the colonialist Dutch as forced labourers – a community of South Africans now known as the Cape Malay.
“Our trip here has been an emotional trip, a reconnection process with the people of this part of the world because we have so much in common with them much as they are thousands of kilometres away from South Africa. So, it was a kind of homecoming for us.
“We depart with warm hearts having been well received and having had deep and enduring talks with the Heads of State and Government in the three countries,” President Ramaphosa remarked.
Following the conclusion of the three-nation visit, President Ramaphosa will now embark on a State visit to Switzerland.