The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, has concluded a successful Working Visit to Los Angeles, California. The visit forms part of South Africa’s priority of forward-looking economic diplomacy by actively building strategic partnerships and promote South Africa as an attractive investment destination.
Minister Lamola had productive meetings with Los Angeles City Mayor Karen Bass and the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC), who are key players in South Africa’s bid to shore up public-private partnerships in key sectors of mutual interest. Minister Lamola highlighted a range of compelling investment opportunities in the renewable energy, technology and tourism sectors. These areas align with California’s innovation-driven, sustainability-focused agenda. The engagements included visits to the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.
The visit powerfully showcased South Africa’s dynamic film, music, and arts sectors, leveraging Los Angeles’s creative leadership to position the nation as a premier destination for international co-productions and cultural exchange. Mobilising the South African diaspora amplifies South Africa’s “soft power,” strengthens its global brand, and fosters invaluable business linkages.
The visit culminated in an active discussion at the Los Angeles World Affairs Council and Town Hall. Minister Lamola used the occasion to reiterate that South Africa’s foreign policy is guided by its national interests: tackling poverty, unemployment, and inequality; the need to advance global democracy; and the rule of international law and multilateralism and the need to attain international peace.
– Source: www.dirco.gov.za