Speaking on the side-lines of a summit hosted by The European House-Ambrosetti – an international think tank – the Ambassador said the interaction of local and foreign captains of industries at such important economic meetings showed that the country has come a long way since the advent of democracy in 1994.

She said there was a lot of deals on the plate that are awaiting businessmen.

“There is a lot to exploit for local businessmen abroad. We have just had a group from the Black Business Council with a lot of back-to-back meetings on agriculture, renewable energy.

“Deals were being signed and joint ventures [were entered into],” she said.

The Ambassador said this when local and foreign CEOs, including government leaders, met behind closed doors at an economic summit to get a presentation of a research that has been done on investment opportunities in South Africa across important sectors.

Available: http://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/local-businesses-benefit-sa-italy-agreements