Investment and job creation: Premier Winde hosts Austrian President Van der Bellen
Image: Premier Alan Winde/Facebook
The Federal President of the Republic of Austria, Alexander Van der Bellen, was received by Western Cape Premier Alan Winde on Saturday at the official Leeuwenhof residence, where they discussed opportunities for investment and job creation.
This comes as Van der Bellen and the first lady of Austria, Doris Schmidauer, arrived in the country as part of a four-day working State Visit with the Austrian delegation to consolidate the long-standing and strong relationship between South Africa and Austria.
Premier Alan Winde, who, alongside his wife Tracy, met with the Austrian leader and Schmidauer, said that their meeting was great. He added that there's strong interest in green energy and advanced manufacturing, which are both key sectors for growing the Western Cape economy and creating work for residents.
'We've got a linkage between Upper Austria, one of their states, and ourselves. We'll be hosting further engagements in an investment conference, with Governor Thomas Stelzer, later in the year.
'It's about growing economy, and about working together - partnerships out of Europe and here in the southern part of Africa. This is all about the economy. It is all about growth, and it is all about jobs.'
Van der Bellen said that it was good to meet with Winde to talk about the potential for cooperation.
'Austrian companies are more than eager to explore new opportunities, particularly in sectors such as green energy and advanced manufacturing.'
The delegation also visited several venues and organisations of interest, including the Artscape, where they met with key Artscape staff, such as the CEO, Marlene le Roux, as well as the Artscape Council, including its chairperson, Zak Gordon.
They shared some insight into Artscape's operations, both theatrical and administrative, as well as a short tour of the building, ending off with some light refreshments to portray Cape Town's hospitality.
Van der Bellen was welcomed by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, and also visited Freedom Park where Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton Mackenzie was present.
'Austria and South Africa enjoy strong bilateral trade and investment relations spanning energy, industrial technology, pharmaceuticals and vocational training. Bilateral trade between South Africa and Austria has been steadily increasing.
'A number of leading Austrian companies are involved in South Africa, through direct investments, distribution and sales offices, or in projects and other services,' Ramaphosa said.
'There are many more opportunities for investment by Austrian companies in South Africa. There are opportunities in areas such as renewable energy generation, agro-processing and component manufacturing opportunities.
'There are also opportunities in critical minerals beneficiations, pharmaceuticals, technology and innovation, among others,' Ramaphosa said.
'We want to see more Austrian tourists coming to South Africa and more South Africans visiting Austria. We are particularly keen to explore eco, sports and heritage tourism.'
Ramaphosa said they signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the field of technical and vocational training.
'We want to learn from Austria on how to achieve the delicate balance between building the workforce of the future and growing the skills needed by the economy today.
'As the South African government, we have consistently affirmed the importance of collaboration with the private sector to drive economic growth and job creation.'
theolin.tembo@inl.co.za
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