Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) is part of an SA Inc delegation led by President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Department of Trade and Industry that will on Thursday depart for Canada to attend the Group of Seven (G7) Leader’s Summit Outreach, where business, labour and the government will make the case for investing in the country.

The business delegation will participate in a G7 roundtable on Friday June 8, when they will focus on promoting business with South Africa, with an emphasis on the mining and the financial sectors. The change in political and executive leadership has resulted in greater stability and an investment-friendly approach, which should be well received, stated BUSA.

President Ramaphosa’s participation in Davos at the World Economic Forum, the Commonwealth meeting and his appointment as co-chair of the International Labour Organisation Global Commission on the Future of Work, have all served to position South Africa more credibly with some of the key players in the global economy.

SA’s attendance is significant because this is the first time the country has been invited to a G7 event in seven years. The G7 comprises an elite group of countries whose collective GDPs make up more than 60% of the global economy. They are: Canada, Japan, Germany, the US, the UK, France and Italy, most of which are already in strategic trade partnerships  and agreements with SA.

“Business recognises the growth and transformation imperative, which were also identified by President Ramaphosa in the 2018 state of the nation address. SA needs to attract more global players into the economy in order to achieve meaningful, inclusive growth and transformation. The two are mutually reinforcing,” said Tanya Cohen, BUSA CEO.