Enormous prospects to scale up trade ties with Bangladesh: South Africa

South African High Commissioner to Bangladesh Prof Anil Sooklal today (31 July) said the relationship between Bangladesh and South Africa is not at its potential that it should be, especially on the trade front, stressing that there is "so much of possibilities to significantly scale up" the trade relations.

"I think the relationship lacks visibility on both sides. We need to give greater visibility. We don't know what each other's markets have to offer. It's out of ignorance that businesses suffer," he said, highlighting the huge potential that the relationship offers.

Prof Sooklal, also the South African High Commissioner to India and Nepal, made the remarks during an interaction with the members of Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

DCAB President AKM Moinuddin and General Secretary Md Arifuzzaman were present.

The high commissioner shared his country's interest to strengthen ties with Bangladesh in the areas of trade and investment, education, culture, sports and pharmaceuticals by overcoming the barriers through joint efforts.

"I firmly believe the private sector must drive economic relations as a government, we create the enabling environment. I think the enabling environment is there. There are some challenges. The visa issue is something that has been raised," he said, adding that they have been looking at it and have made some proposals on how they can try to simplify it as a first step, not having an embassy as an impediment.

South Africa is also exploring ways to introduce direct flight with India, which will also have a positive impact on Bangladesh-South Africa relations.

The high commissioner said they are looking at signing an agreement between the VFS in Delhi, which has an agreement with the high commission and the VFS in Dhaka so that they could facilitate receiving the application, send it to VFS Delhi and have it processed there. "So as a first step, I think this would help."

"I've set certain priorities in terms of getting the relationship back on track. Foreign office consultation needs to happen almost immediately, before the end of this year. That's an important barometer in terms of taking stock of where the relationship is," Prof Sooklal said.

The high commissioner said if they do not meet on a regular basis, unfortunately both sides lose the momentum.

"You have a presence in South Africa. We had promised to open up a Mission in Dhaka as well. Unfortunately, it has not materialised. But it is still a priority for us. I think we see the importance of doing that for a number of reasons," he added.

He said they have had strong bilateral relations over the past three decades and the relationship has grown at various levels.

Prof Sooklal highlighted the importance of cooperation between the trade bodies of the two countries and having a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Bangladeshi chamber and one of the major chambers in South Africa.

"The draft MoU is there on the table. It's being finalised, and I'm hoping before the end of this year that it can be finalised," said the High Commissioner, adding that they should be hosting the next round of Foreign Office Consultations, which they hope will happen in October, or November this year.

And when the Bangladeshi colleagues travelled to South Africa for the FOC, the High Commissioner suggested that they take a small trade delegation, including members from the chamber, to finalise and sign the MoU.

On security issues, he said they, in South Africa, have been very open that they do have security challenges as a country.

He said it is something that the government has been systematically dealing with - be it personal security or be it security of communities.

"Yes, from time to time, we have had challenges where specific communities are targeted for violence, be it Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, Ethiopians, Somalis, Zimbabweans. From time to time, you get this. But it is instigated by a small group of people, and the government deals with it very effectively," Prof Sooklal said, stressing that it has not gone out of hand whenever they have these challenges.

The envoy said they are actively aware of these kinds of challenges. "When you have a large number of migrants coming into a country, it comes with its own challenges as well. But it's not gone through a situation where the government has not been able to control it," he mentioned.

The high commissioner said their security agencies are very well aware of it. He said the Chinese embassy is proactive in working with their security forces, with their ministry, in seeing how they can address these challenges.

"And I'm saying the same needs to happen with the Bangladeshi citizens that are in South Africa, that your embassy needs to be more proactive in working with our ministry and working with the security agencies," he said, adding that "And I think this helps."

About 400,000 Bangladeshis are living in South Africa, said the high commissioner, noting that it is a growing population. "It's a sizable presence. And I believe that also is an opportunity for us in terms of the relationship."

Highlighting the potential of joint ventures, he said South Africa would like to see their companies come and explore opportunities in Bangladesh. "You're a massive market in this region."

The envoy said South Africa can be used as the hub for the larger Sub Saharan region, because they have the infrastructure more than other countries in the region.

"I believe you are very strong in the agro sector. That's a sector where we are not at the level we should be at. So I think again, they're looking at joint ventures. Land is available because South Africa is a vast country," he said.

Agriculture does not even contribute to 3% of South Africa's GDP and it is more like about 2%. "It's a sector we'd like to increase. You have good expertise here in that sector. We have land. I think there are opportunities for joint ventures," said the high commissioner.

He said they are very strong in the minerals and mining sector, where they have expertise. "And I believe that this is a sector we can also explore going forward between ourselves."

The high commissioner said more importantly, people to people interaction, students, academics, think tanks, journalists – can play a very important role in terms of bringing greater visibility to this relationship.

Bangladesh has a high commission in Pretoria, South Africa, which was opened on February 27, 1995.

Both countries are also members of the Commonwealth of Nations, which further strengthens their diplomatic and cultural ties.

The foundation of this relationship lies in the shared values of democracy and development, inspired by the legacy of leaders like Nelson Mandela.